ANAHEIM, Calif. • Not too far from his hometown and in the ballpark he could someday call home, Los Angeles Angels prospect Hank Conger had no intention of getting too homey at his assigned locker in the Angels' clubhouse Sunday. He had been told who usually uses it — All-Star Torii Hunter.
"I don't want to ruin the carpet or anything," Conger said.
Conger's time in the clubhouse was fleeting but fruitful as the switch-hitting catcher drilled a three-run homer and won the MVP award at the 12th annual showcase of young prospects. Conger and fellow Angels prospect Mike Trout shined in Team USA's 9-1 victory Sunday at Angel Stadium. Trout, the youngest player in the game at 18, turned a single into a double with his speed and raced for another hit.
Kansas City infielder Eric Hosmer, cast as the U.S. designated hitter, had four hits, including a double to score Trout in the eighth.
The game pits 50 select prospects from the 30 major-league clubs and splits them into U.S. and World teams. Ten countries were represented Sunday. The World team had won the previous three games, and U.S. manager Don Baylor used all 25 of his players to halt the losing streak.
Last year, when the Futures Game was at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals put their top prospect, the since-traded Brett Wallace, into Albert Pujols' locker. Conger got the similar treatment by finding his gear in the primo spot usually manned by Hunter.
Conger, 22, launched his homer to right field in the fifth inning off World pitcher Henderson Alvarez, a Toronto prospect. A Huntington Beach, Calif., native, Conger has a .279 average and five homers in Class AAA this season. He said after the game he's trying to improve defensively because he "knows defense is always No. 1 in this (Angels) organization." As he ran the bases after his shot, Conger said he met eyes with his father.
"I was trying to keep a straight face, rounding third," he said. "But I had to break out in a big smile. This game is supposed to be played fun."
PROSPECT'S PUJOLS CONNECTION
Back in spring training 2009, Florida Marlins farmhand Logan Morrison reached first base against the Cardinals and had the perfect conversation starter with the MVP standing there, Pujols.
Morrison began: "I went to Maple Woods, too."
Morrison, picked from the Marlins' Class AAA club to represent them at the Futures Game, is a Kansas City native who, like Pujols, was drafted out of Maple Woods Community College. Pujols attended the Kansas City-area college before the Cardinals picked him in the 13th round in 1999. Morrison went in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft and has a .308 average in Triple-A.
"He said he had (heard) about me, and that I had a nice swing," Morrison said of the first conversation. "It's always good to know that somebody came out of there before me. You see what he's done, then it helps you think, 'I can come out of there, too.'"
ROSTERS ALTERED, BY RULE
The American League added three pitchers to its list of All-Stars on Sunday, exercising the rule that prohibited Sunday starters from appearing in Tuesday's midsummer classic. AL manager Joe Girardi, of the Yankees, actually exercised the rule twice — first adding Angels righty Jered Weaver to the roster and then replacing him because he pitched Sunday for LA.
The two pitchers added who will be active for the game are Detroit's Justin Verlander and Oakland's Andrew Bailey. They replace CC Sabathia and Trevor Cahill, both of whom pitched Sunday. Sabathia, Cahill and Weaver will all be invited to the All-Star festivities and introduced before the game.
NL ADDS RELIEVER
The National League officially replaced rookie outfielder Jason Heyward, who is on the disabled list with a bruised thumb. Manager Charlie Manuel, of Philadelphia, first offered the spot to Heyward's teammate, closer Billy Wagner, according to reports. The lefty declined because of a sore ankle.
Manuel stuck with the bullpen theme, and to take Heyward's spot on the roster he added LA Dodgers lefty reliever Hong-Chih Kuo. Kuo is 3-1 with a 1.03 ERA, and he'll be the first Taiwan-born All-Star.
EXTRA BASES
The Cardinals were well-represented in the All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game. Besides Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith on the NL team, musician David Nail, a friend of Tony La Russa's, and actor Jon Hamm, a John Burroughs and Mizzou grad, both wore Cardinals caps and Cardinals patches on their jerseys. ... A total of 24,917 tickets were sold to the first day of FanFest in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday. The total broke the record of 23,511 set last year when St. Louis hosted the All-Star Game and its various events.
