June 19, 2008

Two-time All-Star Tino Martinez will manage the World Team and four-time All-Star and World Series-winning manager Davey Johnson will lead Team USA in the 2008 XM All-Star Futures Game on Sunday, July 13th at Yankee Stadium in New York, it was announced today.

Now in its 10th year, the XM All-Star Futures Game features many of the top Minor League prospects in baseball. This year, as the Olympic Games in Beijing draw near, the 2008 Team USA Olympic trial team will be featured against the World Team. The game, which will last nine innings, will begin at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) and will be broadcast live by ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD and via satellite on XM Satellite Radio. The XM All-Star Futures Game had been a seven-inning contest in eight of the previous nine games, with the one exception coming in 2000 (Atlanta) when the game lasted nine innings.

“We are very excited to continue the tradition of showcasing our game’s top young talent during the XM All- Star Futures Game,” said Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “This year’s event will be particularly special as our fans will have the opportunity to get a first look at many of the players who will make up Team USA and represent our country in August at the Beijing Olympics.”

Taco Bell All-Star Sunday is the first of three days of All-Star events at Yankee Stadium, culminating with the 79th All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 15th.

Martinez, who was selected 14th overall by the Seattle Mariners in the 1988 First-Year Player Draft, played 16 seasons in the Majors from 1990-2005 with the Seattle Mariners (1990-95), New York Yankees (1996-2001, 2005), St. Louis Cardinals (2002-03) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2004). Martinez was a key member of the World Champion New York Yankees teams in 1996, and from 1998-2000. In 1997, Martinez set career-highs with a .296 batting average, 44 home runs, 141 RBI and finished second in A.L. MVP voting. In addition, Tino was crowned the winner of the Home Run Derby and won the A.L. Silver Slugger Award at first base. Martinez, who will also participate in the Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game, retired following the 2005 season. In 2,223 career games, he posted a .271 average with 339 home runs and 1,271 RBI. He hit at least 20 home runs in nine seasons and drove in over 100 runs six times. Martinez currently serves as a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the New York Yankees.

Johnson played 13 seasons in the Majors from 1965-1978 for the Baltimore Orioles (1965-72), Atlanta Braves (1973-75), Philadelphia Phillies (1977-78) and Chicago Cubs (1978). In 1973, Johnson’s first year with the Braves, he set career-highs with 151 hits, 43 home runs, 99 RBI and 84 runs scored. The 43 home runs broke Rogers Hornsby’s record (42 in 1922) for most home runs in a season by a second baseman. Johnson, who won three consecutive Gold Glove Awards as a second baseman (1969-71), was a member of the Baltimore Orioles 1966 and 1970 World Championship teams. He retired after the 1978 season with a .261 average, 136 home runs, 609 RBI, 1,252 hits and 242 doubles in 1,435 games.

Following his playing career, Johnson compiled a career managerial record of 1,148-888 (.564) in 14 Major League seasons as a manager with the New York Mets (1984-90), Cincinnati Reds (1993-95), Baltimore Orioles (1996-97) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1999-2000). In 1986, Johnson guided the Mets to 108 regular season wins and a World Championship as they beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games. Davey was also selected the 1997 A.L. Manager of the Year after leading the Orioles to the A.L. East Division title. Since 2005, Johnson has served as a coach or manager for USA Baseball. In 2006, he managed the U.S. Team at the Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Cuba where his team won the gold medal and a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2007, Johnson was at the helm of the U.S. Team that won the gold medal at the IBAF Baseball World Cup in Taiwan. Johnson will serve as the manager of the U.S. Team at the Olympics in Beijing, China in August.

The 25-man rosters and coaches for the U.S. and the World Futures Teams, selected by Major League Baseball in conjunction with the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau, MLB.com, Baseball America, USA Baseball and the 30 Major League Baseball Clubs, will be unveiled during the MLB All-Star Futures Selection Show on MLB.TV on Thursday, June 26th at 3:00 p.m. (EDT).

The Minor League Baseball Umpires who will work the XM All-Star Futures Game are John Tumpane (home plate) of the Eastern League, Tyler Funneman (first base) of the Texas League, Mark Lollo (second base) of the Eastern League and Toby Basner (third base) of the Southern League. Tumpane, in his seventh professional year, will join Lollo (seventh year) and Basner (fifth year) as umpires for the State Farm Home Run Derby. Funneman, a sixth year umpire, along with Lollo, will take on officiating duties for the Taco Bell® All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game.