Midseason baseball awards go to...

The All-Star Game is as much a celebration of the host franchise as it is Major League Baseball's top talent.

Last year's game provided the New York Yankees with a chance to give their venerable home ballpark the Babe Ruth of going-away parties before it was replaced.

The San Francisco Giants used the 2007 All-Star Game as a stage to honor Hall of Famer Willie Mays.

And who could forget the 1999 All-Star Game in Boston? Former Red Sox great Ted Williams came out in a golf cart, threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and was surrounded by all-star players from both leagues.

This year's midsummer classic will be played Tuesday night in St. Louis. The host Cardinals are one of baseball's most storied franchises. They have won 10 World Series and produced some of the best players in the history of the game, including Stan Musial, who is expected to be on hand for pregame ceremonies. It will be nice to see Musial, 88, get a chance to tip his cap. Lou Brock, Bob Gibson and Ozzie Smith, too. They are among the Cardinals' Hall of Famers honored with statues outside Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals are immensely proud of their history and deserve the chance to honor it before the game. But with all due respect to the Cardinals' past, this game might be all about the team's present, and a player who will one day have his own statue outside the stadium.

This All-Star Game will be a mid-career testimonial to Albert Pujols, who will start at first base for the National League. The 29-year-old Pujols has been one of baseball's most dominant players since arriving in the majors at age 21 in 2001. He has finished in the top nine in NL MVP voting every season since then, won the award twice, and finished second three times. Pujols will likely finish high in the MVP voting again this season. In fact, he's our hands-down choice for first-half MVP as we hand out a few mid-season accolades — just for entertainment purposes, of course.

NL MVP

The Cardinals entered the weekend leading the NL Central. Pujols is their offense. He ranked third in the league in batting average (.332) and first in homers (31), RBIs (83), runs (68), total bases (211), on-base percentage (.458), and slugging percentage (.723). AL MVP