You may have known that the 11th annual Diamond Mind Baseball League All-Star game will be played on Monday, May 26, at the Cereal Bowl in Newark, but we bet you didn't know all the facts you'll find in the Did You Know? Guide to the 2002 All-Star Game!

The Hanover Division will be managed by Newark skipper Don Mattingly; the Morris by Vancouver manager Bud Black. Former Newark Crimewave and Sugar Bear great Dennis Martinez, a three-time All-Star, will throw out the first pitch, and famed tenor Enrico Pallazzo will sing the national anthem. Honorary team captains Mark McGwire (Hanover) and Jay Buhner (Morris) will exchange the lineup cards at home plate prior to the game.

Hanover has won the last two All-Star games, snapping a three-year winning streak by the Morris Division. Morris leads the series, 5 games to 3.

Hoboken's Mike Piazza (.302, .943 OPS, 26 HR, 44 R, 69 RBI) will set two records Monday by appearing in his eighth straight All-Star game. The Hanover Division's starting catcher is now in sole possession of the mark for most All-Star games as well as most consecutive appearances, snapping the record of seven in a row that he'd shared with Tony Gwynn, who retired two years ago. Piazza's back-up, Phoenix's Jorge Posada (.250, .660 OPS, 4 HR, 28 R, 26 RBI), is a two-time All-Star making his second straight appearance.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Tijuana's Ramon Hernandez (.271, .757 OPS, 9 HR, 23 R, 24 RBI), making his All-Star debut as the Morris Division's starting catcher. Hernandez's back-up, Columbia's Ivan Rodriguez (.269, .677 OPS, 3 HR, 16 R, 18 RBI), has appeared in five straight All-Star games, six overall.

The top vote-getter in the Hanover infield is Newark's Chipper Jones (.348, 1.073 OPS, 24 HR, 75 R, 68 RBI), a five-time All-Star making his fourth straight appearance at third base. He's joined by fellow five-timer Roberto Alomar (.301, .886 OPS, 12 HR, 61 R, 53 RBI, 6 SB), Hoboken's star second sacker. Stanhope's Todd Helton (.311, 1.083 OPS, 27 HR, 63 R, 70 RBI) makes his second-straight appearance at first base, while Newark's Mark McLemore (.282, .847 OPS, 10 3B, 49 R, 30 RBI, 8 SB) gets his first call since 1997 as the Hanover's shortstop. Four-time All-Star Jason Giambi (.289, 1.093 OPS, 28 HR, 60 R, 70 RBI) and three-timer Derek Jeter (.268, .638 OPS, 3 HR, 38 R, 20 RBI) are the infield reserves.

The Morris Division's infield is entirely comprised of All-Star rookies, led by true rookie Albert Pujols (.332, 1.039 OPS, 22 HR, 60 R, 72 RBI) at first base. Tijuana's Bret Boone (.273, .767 OPS, 14 HR, 43 R, 50 RBI), Arkansas's Phil Nevin (.292, .971 OPS, 29 HR, 56 R, 76 RBI) and Carolina's Rich Aurilia (.303, .889 OPS, 18 HR, 44 R, 56 RBI) round out the infield. All the experience is on the bench, with five-time All-Star Alex Rodriguez (.283, .910 OPS, 19 HR, 44 R, 53 RBI) and three-timer Jeff Kent (.259, .681 OPS, 2 HR, 49 R, 30 RBI, 7 SB).

Newark's Manny Ramirez (.292, .983 OPS, 28 HR, 63 R, 70 RBI) led the voting for Hanover outfielders and will make his fourth All-Star appearance. He'll be joined by Phoenix's Luis Gonzalez (.321, 1.081 OPS, 27 HR, 60 R, 61 RBI) and Stanhope's Bernie Williams (.336, .920 OPS, 12 HR, 54 R, 55 RBI), each making his third All-Star appearance. On the bench are all first-timers, except Honolulu's Shawn Green (.248, .837 OPS, 24 HR, 51 R, 70 RBI). The others are Harrison's Frank Catalanotto (.309, .801 OPS, 2 HR, 45 R, 20 RBI) and Phoenix rookie Ichiro Suzuki (.307, .744 OPS, 6 HR, 48 R, 31 RBI, 16 SB).

The old man of the Morris Division is seven-time All-Star Barry Bonds (.357, 1.440 OPS, 37 HR, 84 R, 97 RBI), making his third-straight appearance; he's joined by Vancouver's Sammy Sosa (.334, 1.140 OPS, 33 HR, 73 R, 81 RBI), on the team every year since 1999. Columbia outfielder Trot Nixon (.286, .986 OPS, 16 HR, 38 R, 38 RBI) was elected to the team for the first time, but won't be able to play due to injury; he'll be replaced in the starting lineup by Tijuana's Vladimir Guerrero (.276, .770 OPS, 9 HR, 48 R, 43 RBI, 9 SB), making his fourth straight appearance. On the bench is Carolina's Jim Edmonds (.217, .693, 8 HR, 27 R, 22 RBI), a three-time All-Star getting the call for the first time since 1999. Columbia's Magglio Ordonez (.293, .819, 13 HR, 39 R, 41 RBI, 10 SB) will occupy Nixon's spot on the roster.

\ Newark's Jim Thome (.270, .956 OPS, 21 HR, 44 R, 45 RBI) appears in his fourth All-Star game as Hanover's designated hitter. His opposite number is Troy Glaus (.260, .903 OPS, 21 HR, 47 R, 56 RBI), representing Philadelphia for his second straight appearance. Wanaque's Brad Fullmer (.277, .753 OPS, 5 HR, 32 R, 29 RBI) also made the Morris team's bench.

The Hanover Division's Randy Johnson (11-3, 2.50 ERA, 9.5 R/9), this year's only unanimous selection, will start his third All-Star game Monday. Johnson, a six-time All-Star, is tied the record for most starts with Greg Maddux (6-5, 4.72, 12.0), who didn't make the team this year.

Columbia's Mark Buehrle (5-5, 2.51 ERA, 8.8 R/9) is having an awesome season, but to find his way onto the All-Star roster he'd have to send home one of Arkansas's five aces. The rookie southpaw out-polled all of them, taking 7 of 9 votes to win the assignment as the Morris Division's starting pitcher.

Golden Falcon fans will have to be content with four starters on the roster: Roger Clemens (12-3, 2.98 ERA, 12.0 R/9) and Curt Schilling (9-4, 3.75, 10.8), who had five votes each, and Kevin Brown (11-3, 2.38, 10.9) and Brad Penny (8-2, 2.68, 11.2), four votes each. Five-time All-Star Pedro Martinez (7-1, 3.77, 11.1), who has made two All-Star starts and was riding a streak of four consecutive appearances, came up short with three votes.

Make way for the young hurlers! The Big Unit is the only Hanover Division starter named to an All-Star game before, with Newark's John Thomson (11-3, 2.98 ERA, 10.2 R/9) and Brooklyn's Joe Mays (8-8, 3.38, 9.3) joining Hoboken's Brandon Duckworth (8-2, 3.83, 13.9) and Kelvim Escobar (10-4, 3.86, 10.7). In fact, of the 15 Hanover Division starters who drew at least one vote, only three had any previous All-Star experience.

The Morris Division has more experience: The only first-time All-Stars in the starting rotation are youngsters Buehrle and Penny. Brown is a six-time All-Star, while Clemens and Schilling will each make his third All-Star appearance.

In the bullpen, Hoboken closer Jason Isringhausen (3-4, 18 SV, 3.86 ERA, 12.9 R/9) and Brooklyn setup man Vladimir Nunez (8-3, 2 SV, 2.94, 11.1) make their All-Star debut. Stanhope's Mariano Rivera (4-5, 17 SV, 1.95, 8.9), the top vote-getter among relievers with 8, was voted to his fourth All-Star game. Phoenix's Troy Percival (2-2, 19 SV, 1.23, 8.8) has been here three times before, and Honolulu's Ugueth Urbina (3-3, 16 SV, 3.40, 10.0) is a two-time All-Star.

Most of the young pitching talent in the Morris Division is found in the bullpen, with four relievers making their All-Star debuts. Arkansas's Octavio Dotel (6-3, 18 SV, 2.96 ERA, 9.0 R/9) leads the way with 5 votes, joined by three middle relievers: Teammate Byung-Hyun Kim (3-2, 1 SV, 10 holds, 3.26, 12.3), Philadelphia's David Weathers (0-0, 1 SV, 6 holds, 2.59, 11.7) and Wanaque's Antonio Alfonseca (7-1, 0 SV, 11 holds, 1.79, 10.9). The only veteran Vancouver closer Billy Wagner (2-4, 11 SV, 1.69, 11.8), back after being named to the squad in 1999 and 2000.

Welcome back!
Schilling is an All-Star for the first time since 1996. The five-year interlude is the longest of any All-Star this season, followed by McLemore and Percival, both away since 1997. The record for longest gap between appearances is still held by Tony Fernandez, an All-Star in 1991 and 2000.

Four players have a chance to become the first two-time All-Star MVP: Bonds (1993), Randy Johnson (1994), Piazza (2000) and Chipper Jones (2001).

Not this year:
Honolulu's six-time All-Star second baseman Craig Biggio (.235, .632 OPS, 5 HR, 42 R, 31 RBI) received no votes this year; seven-time All-Star Frank Thomas, trying to make a comeback with the minor-league Stroudsburg Train Wreck, didn't even make the ballot for the Triple-A All-Star game. Three middle infielders who came close to going for the first time: Brooklyn's Marlon Anderson (.212, .528 OPS, 1 HR, 35 R, 16 RBI) and Ricky Gutierrez (.296, .703 OPS, 3 HR, 31 R, 32 RBI), and Honolulu's Miguel Tejada (.243, .707 OPS, 11 HR, 38 R, 32 RBI), who each received two votes.

Former Morris Division stars out this year include seven-time All-Star Edgar Martinez (.259, .799 OPS, 10 HR, 34 R, 40 RBI), who didn't get a single vote; six-timer Juan Gonzalez (.272, .827 OPS, 18 HR, 40 R, 51 RBI) drew two votes. Another six-time All-Star, Ken Griffey Jr. (.304, .903 OPS, 14 HR, 34 R, 38 RBI), not only received a goose egg from the voters, but before the game was traded to the other division, as a member of the Stanhope Mighty Men.

Also out this year: Harrison's Tom Glavine (5-7, 5.06 ERA, 13.9 R/9), a four-time All-Star, received two votes; Stanhope's Andy Pettitte (4-10, 4.11, 12.5), an All-Star in 1998, fell just short with three votes. Newark's Eric Milton (11-3, 3.29, 10.0) and Hoboken's Joel Pineiro (10-3, 3.62, 12.0), each hoping to make his first All-Star appearance, came up just short with three votes.

Joining former Morris Division All-Stars Martinez (3 votes) and Maddux (3 votes) on the couch are two-time All-Stars Mike Mussina (6-7, 3.47 ERA, 11.4 R/9), who received two votes, and Kevin Appier (3-8, 5.77, 13.8), who was shut out. Just missing the cut were Vancouver's Al Leiter (8-8, 4.03, 12.1) and Wanaque's Jeff Weaver (9-3, 4.03, 11.4), who each had 3 votes in his bid to make his All-Star game debut.

Brooklyn closer Felix Rodriguez (1-4, 19 SV, 2.92 ERA, 8.8 R/9) lost out on a tiebreaker to Isringhausen, with three votes, to miss his chance at his first appearance. Newark's John Smoltz (0-0, 3 SV, 7 holds, 2.14, 9.4), a three-time All-Star as a starter, had two votes as a setup guy. One-timers Jeff Nelson (1-3, 1 SV, 11 holds, 2.79, 11.4) and Derek Lowe (2-8, 6 SV, 3 holds, 4.40, 13.8) also drew two votes each.

Columbia co-closers Jeff Shaw (5-6, 9 SV, 3.11 ERA, 11.7 R/9) and Mike Williams (0-1, 6 SV, 1.88, 13.2) not only split their saves, but also their votes; each received three, falling short of the team by a single vote; Armando Benitez (2-1, 2 SV, 3.83, 10.9) and Kazuhiro Sasaki (2-5, 16 SV, 4.08, 10.4) also had three votes each. It would've been the second All-Star appearance for all four.