Manny is in the Home Run Derby

[Aglets]

Have you ever watched one of these? While it would be fair to say Peterson should be favored he is by no means a lock. Do you think Tejada had the best power in the game the year he won?

And remember Cespedes has won the last two of these in a row I believe. Beating out guys with much more power than him I'm sure.

[DrungoHazewood]

OK, I'll start. This sucks. I've read articles about how post-HR derby effects are overblown, but I don't buy it. I've had too many of my fantasy players tank after being in the Derby. I hope it doesn't happen, and it probably won't, but I don't like it.

Who gets chosen for the home run derby? Primarily players who are among the leaders in home runs, often players hitting as many or more homers as they have in their lives. So who are the most likely players to regress over the coming months? Those players currently playing better than they have before. It's the same thing as the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. You don't get on the cover of Sports Illustrated unless you're playing over your head, and likely to soon come back down to earth.

[Frobby]

I'd rather he didn't. But he needs to upgrade his national image I suppose.

Maybe they could start having a bat throwing contest. Both longest distance, and then set up dummies at several positions on the field and see how many you can hit.

I'd actually pay to see this. I'm sick to death of the HR derby.

[Camden_yardbird]

Have you ever watched one of these? While it would be fair to say Peterson should be favored he is by no means a lock. Do you think Tejada had the best power in the game the year he won?

That's why it's called a prediction...

And no I don't watch them anymore. Berman has made them pretty much unwatchable for the past few years.

"Back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back." What kind of freaking home run call is that? Ruined the Hamilton derby which may have been the greatest performance ever on a baseball field.

[Can_of_corn]

That's why it's called a prediction...

And no I don't watch them anymore. Berman has made them pretty much unwatchable for the past few years.

"Back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back." What kind of freaking home run call is that? Ruined the Hamilton derby which may have been the greatest performance ever on a baseball field.

Except you didn't phrase it like a prediction, you phrased it like it was a fact.

If you had said "I think Manny will get crushed." then that, to me, would have read like a prediction.

I know it is my fault for expecting folks to be clear in their writing.

If I do watch, which isn't often, I watch on mute.

[DrungoHazewood]

Maybe they could start having a bat throwing contest. Both longest distance, and then set up dummies at several positions on the field and see how many you can hit.

I'd actually pay to see this. I'm sick to death of the HR derby.

I'm sick to death of the entire All Star event. The voting and team selection is insane. The roster size is insane. The quest to get 33 players into a nine-inning game is insane. Tying it to home field advantage in the World Series is insane. Like a lot of things it once made sense, when there was no cable/satellite TV and the leagues never played each other, and it was treated like a real game. There's so much money and risk aversion that they can't do actually fun things like field day competitions to see who is fastest or has the best arm or whatever. Now the whole thing is just a silly spectacle that sometimes bears some resemblance to Major League baseball. I could come up with about 20 ways to make it more interesting and relevant, but baseball seems to have no interest in changing anything about it.

[DrungoHazewood]

What kind of freaking home run call is that? Ruined the Hamilton derby which may have been the greatest performance ever on a baseball field.

How could batting practice, probably with rigged baseballs, be the greatest performance every on a baseball field? My vote would have to be something from an actual competitive game.

[Redskins Rick]

Maybe they could start having a bat throwing contest. Both longest distance, and then set up dummies at several positions on the field and see how many you can hit.

I'd actually pay to see this. I'm sick to death of the HR derby.

I am right there, with you on this!

Actually, personally, I lost interest in the whole ASG, many years ago.

[Frobby]

I am right there, with you on this!

Actually, personally, I lost interest in the whole ASG, many years ago.

Me too, though with four Orioles on the team, there's a good chance I'll tune in at some point.

[Redskins Rick]

Me too, though with four Orioles on the team, there's a good chance I'll tune in at some point.

There is some talk about AJ and how he should sit and rest, since its clear, he isn't 100%.

There is a lot to be said for that, but these guys are gamers, and they want to play.

[Frobby]

There is some talk about AJ and how he should sit and rest, since its clear, he isn't 100%.

There is a lot to be said for that, but these guys are gamers, and they want to play.

To my eye, Adam looks like he has recovered. In the three games before yesterday, he had four doubles and a homer. I don't think passing up the ASG would help him much.

[Redskins Rick]

To my eye, Adam looks like he has recovered. In the three games before yesterday, he had four doubles and a homer. I don't think passing up the ASG would help him much.

He does look well at the plate, but I thought he wasn't covering the ground in the OF, that he normally gets too, maybe that's just me.

[Camden_yardbird]

Except you didn't phrase it like a prediction, you phrased it like it was a fact.

If you had said "I think Manny will get crushed." then that, to me, would have read like a prediction.

I know it is my fault for expecting folks to be clear in their writing.

If I do watch, which isn't often, I watch on mute.

You also don't realize that distance is supposed to be an aspect of this year's derby.

[Can_of_corn]

You also don't realize that distance is supposed to be an aspect of this year's derby.

What makes you think I am not aware of the rules?

Really good power hitters sometime have really low totals in an individual round.

Like I said Manny is at a disadvantage.

But pure power doesn't come close to always winning the day in one of these exhibitions.

[Camden_yardbird]

How could batting practice, probably with rigged baseballs, be the greatest performance every on a baseball field? My vote would have to be something from an actual competitive game.

It's too subjective a topic to assign criteria to but I agree that taking place in a competitive setting would be a solid criteria to have. I would argue that a No hitter or perfect game are probably more impressive. That said, what he did will likely never be equaled again on a baseball field and as far as entertainment value that performance was quite impressive. For the general public though, and not for a hard core baseball fan, in an exhibition, I think a lot of people would say that was the most impressive thing they have seen.