Andrew Perna is covering all of the All-Star festivities for RealGM this week. Read along as he blogs through Monday night's Home Run Derby. 8:04PM - It took quite a while, but the telecast is finally live on ESPN as the eight participants for this year's Home Run Derby are being announced. 8:10PM - Josh Hamilton gets the loudest ovation, thanks to his fan-friendly story, but my money is on Grady Sizemore in this one. 8:12PM - It's almost official. I've been in New York City for nearly twelve hours, but thanks to caffeine and enthusiasm, I'm still going strong. Thankfully, with the national broadcast starting, "Put Me In, Coach" is no longer playing over the loud speakers at Yankee Stadium. 8:14PM - Reggie Jackson throws out the first pitch to Derek Jeter in a very special moment at the Stadium. The flashbulbs go wild as 'The Captain' catches what looked like a solid strike. (Or at least it looked like that from the extended media perch along the third base line). What a minute. Why does a Home Run Derby need a first pitch? 8:21PM - Reggie Jackson just finished giving a nice interview to Michael Kay, and Dan Uggla comes to bat as the first batter. First Round Dan Uggla, Florida Uggla hits the first two pitches out of the park, to left and then left-center field, but then records three-consecutive outs. He answers by hitting a pair to left field, with both very close to the foul pole. Dan gets some good luck from a little boy that appears to be his son, which leads to the seventh out. Dan, punish that kid. Uggla hits his fifth, again to left field, before winning $17,000 for the Boys & Girls Club by smacking the "gold" ball out of the park. Uggla Total: 6 Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Sizemore, Grady not Tom, blasts the first two pitches he sees out of the park. After a pair of outs, he launches one into the right field seats, very Giambi-esque. I "picked" him to win this contest, so he better start swinging that bat with force. Just as I finish typing that sentence, Grady finds the upper deck in right again...his fifth knock with six outs. He rallies, ties Uggla with six homers, and then notches the ninth out to bring out the "gold" ball. He hits one to right that was probably about four inches shy of being gone. My pick doesn't look so hot now. Thanks, Grady. Sizemore Total: 6 8:38PM - Commercial break, but in case you were wondering I'm putting some early touches on Tuesday's edition of the Scoop Du Jour and taking in some of the sights. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Evan becomes the third-straight hitter to smack the first pitch he sees out of the park but responds with six consecutive outs. He's hearing some boos, but I cannot decide why. It's either that the fans want to see more long balls or that he plays for the contending Rays. It's probably a little bit of both. He's looking cold, and strong cheers after his second homer (to the upper deck in left field) indicate that these New Yorkers just wanted to see more homers. However, there is one rogue fan booing Longoria near the press box. Here comes to "gold" ball, which Longoria lines to left field. A decent showing, with strong boos from the fans at the end, but I still prefer Eva. Longoria Total: 3 Chase Utley, Philadelphia Utley comes to the plate with Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" playing in the background but just misses a homer on his first swing. I think the song choice is ironic because one of my favorite song parodies is "Chubby Back", which I first heard on Philadelphia's WMMR. It took four swings, but Chase finally leaves the park in right field. A little kid in centerfield draws a huge cheer for a great catch, but Utley has just two home runs with eight outs on the board. What's impressive about Utley is what a long-drive hitter he really is. Seeing him in person, it's amazing. He smacks his third homer to right field, clearing the wall by no more than fifteen feet. Each of his bombs have almost looked identical. He hits the "gold" ball to right-center field, yet another line-drive shot. However, he finally gets some air under the ball, stroking his fifth homer much higher in right. Utley Total: 5 8:55PM - Yet another commercial break, and my energy is fading. I smell like I took batting practice all day, but I really just spent my time running from player to player and going from the Grand Hyatt to Yankee Stadium. If Justin Morneau wiped his hands on my face, it'd work just as well as pine tar. That's how gross I am right now. Lance Berkman, Houston After leading off with two outs, Berkman cranks one to right field. We're only at the fifth participant, and I think I have exhausted my entire vocabulary of "home run" synonyms. After falling to six outs, Lance hits three-straight to right field. His third and fourth home runs take roughly four total seconds to leave the park. Berkman ties Utley with his fifth blast, before reaching the "gold" ball and getting picky with his pitches. I'm glad guys are taking time with the special Boys & Girls Club balls...giving money where needed. Lance tees off on a trio of "gold" balls, but even better was the catch made in the center "black" by some fan. It looked like a backhanded grab from my angle, so that's what I'll call it. Berkman Total: 8 9:07PM - Kay interviews Mariano Rivera, not sure if it was on television, and the crowd gives "The Best Closer In The Game" a huge round of applause. Someone then, God bless them, puts 'Enter Sandman' over the public address system. Very nicely done. Justin Morneau, Minnesota Morneau hits his second homer in between the right centerfield bleachers and right field. From where I'm sitting, it's probably as close as we'll get to seeing someone club the ball out of the park. He's struggling a little bit, with three home runs to his name and three outs to go. He answers, smacking a quartet to right, before flying out to right field. He's now in second place with one out left. Justin hits the "gold" ball out of the park and narrowly misses a ninth home run on his final swing. Morneau Total: 8 Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Braun starts off with six outs, not exactly scintillating, and the crowd lets him have it. Alright, here we go. Ryan clubs a trio to get himself on the board, and he's tied Evan Longoria for last-place. He's caught fire now, with four long balls in six swings. He adds to that, hitting his fifth homer almost exactly where his second went. Another upper deck, left field shot gets Braun into the top-four (for the time-being). Ryan is officially on fire as he has six bombs in his last eight swings. He misses, coming down to the "gold" ball but comes up short again. Braun Total: 7 Josh Hamilton, Texas This is the player that everyone has been waiting for tonight, with his long road to stardom well-documented. If Hamilton can beat the odds to retain his baseball talents and remain alive, I don't think he'll have a problem hitting home runs in front of millions. The goosebumps have arrived, and I'll admit that it's not for the first time today, as Hamilton hits one 502 feet off the stadium boundaries in right center field. Unreal. God Lord. Hamilton has five home runs in eight swings, hitting his last one 504 feet. I think he just might club one out of the ballpark. This contest seems to be tailor made for the Texas centerfielder. He's got eight home runs with just five outs, which is key because the numbers carry over into the second round. A fan catches what would have been Hamilton's ninth, but an umpire doesn't call it a home run. The ball wouldn't have gone out without some help from the fan, but do we really need umps for this thing? Okay, this thing appears to be Josh's for the taking. He's signing autographs in between bombs now, and he has twelve home runs through seven outs. Make that fifteen. Change that to sixteen with eight outs. In case you were wondering, my pick - Grady Sizemore - is now officially out of contention. Adjustment: Hamilton has eighteen, and I have goosebumps again. Ruining the fun is David Ortiz, who forgets he's at Yankee Stadium. Even if he's paying homage to Hamilton, it doesn't matter. New York hates him. Hamilton has 23 with eight outs. I've switched to numerals, in case you didn't notice. He ties the all-time Derby record with 24 homers in the first round, I don't think that mark is going to last very long. A "Hamilton" chant breaks out, in a town that only applauds its own...and often boos them, as well. 2-5! He admitted during Monday's afternoon Derby press conference that Clay Counsell is throwing the ball to him. Nice job, Clay! A fan screams in the direction of the press box, "You guys better be writing about this, because I wanna read about it!" Josh has 28, and I've gotten my fourteenth wind of the night. The ball stays in the park for the first time since what seems like 1998, and Hamilton finishes up with 28 home runs to set a new Home Run Derby record. I think it's safe to say that Josh has this thing won. ESPN might as well end the whole darn competition right now. Hamilton Total: 28 9:50PM - Time to grab a Red Bull. Second Round Berkman, First Round Tally: 8 The Hamilton hangover has begun as the crowd just wants to see Josh hit again. I polish off a hot dog and Sprite, I couldn't find any Red Bull at the nearby concession stand, and with $10 (yes, that's how much a wiener and soda cost) in my stomach, I'm ready for another hour of home runs. Oh yeah. Berkman finishes with a total of 14 home runs. Respectable, but puny next to Hamilton's explosion. Berkman Total: 14 Morneau, First Round Tally: 8 Justin looks cold after sitting on the sidelines for roughly three hours watching Hamilton's display but hits his ninth of the night after three outs. He's caught fire a little bit, tallying twelve bombs with five outs on the board. He ties Berkman with three outs still on the board, looking to solidify a spot in the two-man final. Seconds later, he's got fifteen total. Scratch that, make it sixteen. En Fuego. The tally is seventeen. Morneau Total: 17 10:09PM - I've been blogging for two hours now, and I have seen 86 homers. Braun, First Round Tally: 7 Ryan bursts out of the gate with three home runs on his first four swings but stumbles a little bit. He's five bombs away from tying Morneau and making the finals alongside Hamilton (who's already in without having come to bat in the second round), with five outs left. He hits his stride, clubbing a pair in three swings to bring his tally to fourteen with six outs. Unfortunately for Milwaukee fans, Braun fails to make the final round as he flies out to right center on the "gold" ball. Braun Total: 14 Hamilton, First Round Tally: 28 Hamilton won't come to bat in the second round because he's already qualified. However, because of the frenzy he caused in the first round, he is going to take some swings to "warm up" prior to the finals alongside Morneau. He ends up with 32 home runs, blasting four in his pseudo-second round performance. Hamilton Total: 32 10:30PM - The coin toss indicates that Morneau will go first in the final round, which saves Morneau from some embarrassment as he would have had follow up a historic display of power by the Rangers' center fielder. The Finals Justin Morneau, Twins The crowd seems to be waiting for Hamilton to come to the plate as it sounds like a funeral with Morneau swinging. He has just a pair of homers through his first seven outs, adding a third on a right field blast. The "gold" ball makes another appearance, and Justin smacks it to right center to bring the donation total to $153,000 on the night (all of which State Farm will apparently give to the Boys & Girls Club). Cha-ching. The tally is now $170,000 as Morneau ends his appearance. Morneau's Finals Tally: 5 10:40PM - Guess who's coming up... Josh Hamilton, Rangers He'll attempt to break Bobby Abreu's all-time home run record of 41, needing just nine blasts to tie the mark. Hamilton starts off with an out, of all things, in need of six home runs to take home tonight's crown. A nice right field shot starts the excitement, but the crowd appears anxious as Josh has one bomb and three outs. Make that four outs. Could he possibly lose this thing after exploding in the first round? He's alive...two home runs and four outs. He's inching closer, three homers with five outs. Seven outs. Good Lord, this is amazing. He appears to have worn himself out...or the arm of Counsell (71 years old) after throwing some 54 pitches in the first round alone. Eight outs. Nine outs. By the way, thanks for tuning in folks...or rather reading in, however you say it. Ten outs. Morneau wins, after Hamilton cranks just three in the final round. What a disappointment, to be honest. See you all tomorrow! Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com and is covering the 2008 MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. If there is any specific coverage you?d enjoy from the Bronx, let me know via e-mail. ([email protected]).