We may have been wrong about the A's, but we were right about Jason Giambi.

On a sun-splashed day at Safeco Field, Giambi bashed 20 of Dave Valle's batting-practice bloopers halfway to Mount Rainier -- about as visible on the far horizon as Seattle is from Oakland's second-place perch in the AL West. It wasn't good enough to win the Home Run Derby, but it was a blast to watch.

Afterward, while Luis Gonzalez got to share the limelight at a massive press conference with a fan who won a house from one of 30 corporate sponsors, Giambi held court for a small knot of reporters inside the American League clubhouse. He talked about what makes All-Stars sprawl on the grass in front of the dugouts with their families (accompanied by small armies of Japanese photographers), and root for each other like fans.

"The whole fun of it is being out there watching guys hit -- being a spectator like everyone else," he said. "I had a ball. I loved every minute of being a part of it."

Giambi didn't expect to spend the afternoon launching rockets into the third deck in right field. He was invited to join the party at the last minute, replacing a late-arriving Manny Ramirez. "I said, yeah, I'll strap it on. If I'm in it, I'll have fun. If I'm not, I'm out there cheering for Sammy to hit one out of the whole stadium. I did that anyway. He came damn close."

At 460 feet, Giambi's longest shot was only eight feet shy of Sosa's. "I remember as a kid, watching Mac and Sammy, those cartoon characters, hitting 'em out at will," Giambi said, breaking into a wide smile.

"You know, if I took the same hacks in a game, I'd punch out four times. But it's okay, it's the All-Star Game, it doesn't count."

Yes it does.

Jon Scher is editor of ESPNMAG.com. E-mail him at jon.scher@espnmag.com.