"On Sunday morning, when Matt Capps learned he had been chosen for baseball's All-Star Game, he thought first about his father. "I wish he could see it," Capps said. Last October, Mike Capps died of a heart attack. Capps believes his father has been with him ever since, from one of the lowest points of his career to the highest.

"His daddy, I know, is in heaven just smiling ear-to-ear," said Kathy Capps, Matt's mother. "Nobody knows except us how much Matt loves baseball."

In his first season as the Washington Nationals' closer, Capps was the only National named to the all-star team. Capps may be joined in Anaheim, Calif., by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, whom National League Manager Charlie Manuel and the league placed on the final fan ballot. Around baseball, debate will focus on the exclusion of phenom Stephen Strasburg, who was chosen for neither the team nor the fan ballot to select the 34th and final member.

Capps, 26, made his first All-Star Game one year after his worst season and most turbulent offseason. Capps has 22 saves, second in the majors, in 26 opportunities with a 3.19 ERA. Despite living on the edge -- he's allowed 10.8 hits per nine innings -- Capps became a central figure in the Nationals' strong start.

"You work your whole life for it," Capps said. "To be voted on by the players, your peers and people you compete against, that makes it all the more special."

Strasburg, baseball's biggest attraction, posed a unique challenge for Manuel and the league. Should an utterly dominant and wildly popular rookie with a handful of starts make the midsummer classic? Strasburg has a 2.45 ERA and a 53-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but he's started only six major league games. "