The 85th edition of the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game, set for Tuesday night, should be very special, with the league commemorating the career of New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter, currently embarked on his retirement tour after announcing he was stepping away from the game this fall at the start of the season.

While one great baseball star basks in the twilight of his career, another, the sensational Cuban-born Yasiel Puig, is on a meteoric rise as he gets ready to appear in his first-ever All-Star Game.

And through it all, the seasoned eyes of a ballplayer-turned-broadcaster reflect on the past and the future of the game.

"The All-Star Game was created to honor players and if you're going to honor someone, why not honor the best, 'The Captain,' someone you can point to and tell your kids he's a role model?" says Fox Deportes analyst and former Houston Astro Jose Tolentino to Latin Post.

Tolentino, 53, born in Mexico City, Mexico, will be working the game for the network's Spanish-language broadcast. Of Jeter, he said, "This man has never betrayed his fans, this man has never flung a helmet or has never gone at someone on or off the field. There is nothing ugly about his career. He's a superstar off and on the field and I've told him personally -- we have a slight friendship with him -- 'Derek, you have no idea how good you been to fans of this generation. [It's] a shame that those like in Pete Rose's era, they couldn't have been more like you."

Jeter, the long-time shortstop for the Yankees -- best known as "The Captain" to his loyal fans -- finishes out his career with a boatload of accolades.

Proving pivotal during the Yankees' dynasty of the mid-1990s, Jeter, a five-time World Series champion, has also won the 1996 American League Rookie of the Year, 14 MLB All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves, five Silver Slugger Awards -- given to the best offensive player at each position in both the AL and the National League (NL) as determined by MLB coaches and managers -- and the 2000 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

As Jeter prepares to run one last victory lap at Target Field in Minnesota, exciting second-year outfielder Puig makes his debut in the All-Star game.

Puig is currently batting .309 with 12 home runs, and 52 RBIs and an OPS of .393, electrifying Los Angeles Dodgers fans with his carefree and aggressive style play.

Tolentino thinks that with his fun-loving way play of baseball and instant stardom in Tinseltown, Puig may already be "the face of the league," alongside the likes of the league's young talented outfielders such as Los Angeles Angel Mike Trout and Washington Nationals Bryce Harper.

"In my opinion, he's already surpassed Bryce Harper," says Tolentino. "What has learned from last year to this year is incredible. He's not as wild in the batter box, he runs hard on the bases pads but not out of control. He plays aggressive but he's learning his limits. I think he's doing it in a good way."

Tolentino believes that some of his critics have been harsh on the Cuban export, who went from living under a Communist regime to signing a seven-year, $42 million dollar contract in 2012 and becoming an overnight celebrity once promoted to the big leagues in town fueled by celebrity appeal.

Toletino is very empathetic of the cultural adjustments that Puig had to make as he transitioned from Cuban star playing under their restrictive system of baseball to MLB superstar on the rise and under the microscope buoyed by all-world talent and huge fan appeal.

"When I arrived to the the U.S., I didn't come so primitive," said Tolentino. "When I arrived from Mexico to the U.S. it was difficult. I cried when I played college baseball. I arrived at the University of Texas, I'd cry, in bed looking at the sky saying to myself, 'What's going on?' I had to study, I had to do this, I had to do that. Imagine coming from Cuba, not know any English and all of a sudden, you are transported into the 'future.' Because it is 'the future.' Cuba is stuck in the 1950s, 1960s to suddenly arriving into the 2000s. Imagine that."

Despite the celebration of new-school baseball and the old guard, the MLB All-Star game is more than just an exhibition game.

"It's been four, five years that the [All-Star] game now counts, whether we like it or not, and that's very important," says Tolentino. "Controversial, yes, but still important because it'll determine which league, whether American League or National League gets home field advantage in the World Series. Some may like it, some may think it's controversial. However you feel about it, it still counts and that makes it important."

Tolentino predicts that the Washington Nationals will take the NL East, St. Louis will survive Yadier Molina's injury to capture the NL Central, and Puig's Dodgers will take the NL West with the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants slugging it out for the wild-card slots.

In the American League, Tolentino believes that the Detroit Tigers will survive the AL Central, the Oakland Athletics will continue rolling along with the best record in baseball taking the AL West, the Toronto Blue Jays hold on to win the AL East while the Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles will snag wild-card spots.

One team that won't see the postseason in Tolentino's opinion are the Yankees, who he would love to see there for the team's beloved icon Jeter to go out swinging in the postseason, where he has earned the nickname "Mr. November" because of his flair for playoff dramatics.

"Everyone is getting hurt around him," says Tolentino. "Those that have been playing well have had injury issues. They'll discover that [Masahiro] Tanaka needs surgery. It's going to be hard, extremely hard for the Yankees. Derek may end up retiring before the season is over. It's a shame because I would really love to see him in the playoffs."