Tonight is the annual MLB Home Run Derby on FOX, presented by Some Large But Not Baseball Relevant Company. And guess who’s in it? Well, the NL representatives are actually about the best lineup they’ve ever had: Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez, and Prince Fielder.
The American League lineup? Nelson Cruz, Joe Mauer, Brandon Inge, and Carlos Pena.
Yawn.
I’m not even sure why Inge and Pena are on the main All-Star roster. Ok, yeah, I do, but those are political and not statistical reasons.
Carlos Pena is hitting .228. I love Joe Mauer, but he’s not a power hitter by any stretch. Cruz and Inge have had nice seasons, and have good power. But this is the Home Run Derby, and most casual baseball fans haven’t even heard of those two.
Last year’s derby was fun. It was at Yankee stadium with all the final year hoopla, and Josh Hamilton and Justin Morneau put on an incredible 4 hour show. So, uh….why are neither of them participating in this year’s competition? Here’s Morneau’s reasoned excuse: “They asked me (yesterday), I said I wasn’t going to do it.” Can’t argue with that, really. Josh Hamilton fell off drastically in the 2nd half last season, and this year has been injured for most of the 1st half, so his absence doesn’t come as a surprise. But the defending champion just declining? Why should I care then?
I just looked at the AL roster to make sure it wasn’t just a thin year: Teixeira. Bay. Hamilton. Longoria. Morneau. The best of the American League’s home run hitters. None of them in the home run hitting contest.
Also, does anyone know this year’s rules? I say “this year’s” because I believe they’ve changed something like 9 out of the last 12 years. But there is always one constant. Well, ok, two: It will be at least an hour too long. And, Chris Berman will be making dozens of half-hearted home run calls. zzzzzzzzz…..Hopefully this year we don’t have to listen to the Wayne Brady of sports media: Rick Reilly.
Maybe I’ll watch part of it in between reruns of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.
Posted by shatraw on July 14, 2009 at 12:38 pm
the derby was on ESPN, hence the hours of Chris Berman torture. Personally, i gave up 2 hours in during the 3-man-swing-off. i did pick nelson cruz to win. stupid prince fielder.
they should embellish the derby next year like they did in that old MLB game for PSX. there were all these targets that were worth points and crazy shit would happen if you hit some of them. if they really wanted to go all out, they could shrink the contestants and hold the derby in a living. broken lamps everywhere! awesome!