The eight-man field is set for the 2021 Home Run Derby. Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini, Royals catcher Salvador Pérez, Athletics first baseman Matt Olson, Nationals outfielder Juan Soto and Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo will compete in the event.
Ohtani has been perhaps baseball’s biggest story in 2021. The two-way star has a league-best thirty-one home runs and looks like the early favorite to win the AL MVP award. Alonso, who won the most recent Derby in 2019, will be looking to defend his title. The right-handed slugger has popped fifteen homers this year. Story figures to be the fan favorite with All-Star festivities taking place in Denver. The 28-year-old has hit 11 longballs this season. It’ll be an emotional sight to see Mancini on such a big stage. He missed all of last season battling colon cancer but made it back this year and has popped fifteen homers.
Pérez has been the game’s most powerful catcher. He leads all backstops with twenty homers and he’ll get the starting nod behind the plate for the American League in the All-Star game. Olson has also hit twenty dingers this year and will represent the playoff-contending A’s in the All-Star game. Gallo, who’ll join Ohtani, Pérez and Olson on the AL All-Star team, has been on an absolute tear over the last month, bringing his season total in homers up to twenty-three. Soto only has ten home runs this season, but he’s been one of the game’s best hitters since reaching the majors as a 19-year-old in 2018.
The Home Run derby will take place at Denver’s Coors Field on Monday, July 12.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Gallo’s inclusion.
We need Choi in this ASAP
I’m sure management is privately against this. The possible negative consequences of participating often far outnumber the positives, and that’s for just non-pitchers. So much more being risked on the pitching side. I wish him luck and continued good health.
He gets a million bucks if he wins. Who cares what management thinks, it’s good for baseball.
You’re missing the point, participating could negatively impact his performance and/or health when the regular season resumes after the break. Time will tell, I’ll revisit this subject at the end of July.
Blah blah blah
Except there is no evidence of that.
Showtime at Anaheim tonight
Ohtani (((((Hit 2 home runs tonight)))))
21 For the season
Halo fans care, at least the real ones. The Angels look like they have a legit chance at at least a wild card, and Ohtani on the IL would be more devastating than even Trout.
Except there is no evidence is caused a problem
In what alternate dimension? They’re 10 wins behind Oakland and Tampa Bay – both those teams are in second place in their respective division.
No they don’t
I understand you mate.
@Halo11Fan
Actually, there’s lots of evidence of that.
The prevailing “wisdom,” that there’s no effect, comes from a widely touted analysis published years ago on the Baseball Prospectus site. The flaw in that analysis was glaring. It was so obvious that it’s incredible that the analysts completely overlooked it and nobody else picked up on it.
They didn’t factor in the number of swings taken in each round and the pace of the swings.
I checked the records of the many participants whose power declined in the second half, and the correlation was plain: a lot of swings taken in a round corresponded with a drop in power after the All-Star break.
Any athlete can tell you about muscle fatigue. The task of swinging for the fences repetitively against a time clock is a prescription for injury. Any GM who lets his players participate in this meaningless exhibition is a fool. There’s a reason Judge refuses to ever participate again. He suffered the effects.
@fever pitch guy
No please, pontificate now. None of us can wait till the end of July….
I’ve read articles examining it. Since these are players who have good first halves, natural regression occurs. Ohtani is not going to hit 60 HRs this year. If he only hits 50, people will blame that on this contest? If all stars regress in the second half, as most of them will, are you going to blame that on the all star game?
If someone were able to make a compelling argument, then as an Angel fan, I wouldn’t want him in the contest.
Lol they have 0 chance at the playoffs. ZERO
The Angels are four games back of Oakland. No Trout, Rendon and their Relief pitching couldn’t be worse.
You are insane if you think they don’t have a chance.
Manfred can put this in his lunch box & go eat it
I no longer watch because McGuire and others ruined (with PEDS making it a joke) what was at times until then a great competition. That said, I thought they changed the rules making it more reasonable in total swings.
Bobby Abreu enters the chat…..
Do your own research then. Look up the players with the biggest declines in power after competing. Then, instead of merely looking at how many home runs they hit, examine how many swings they took in each round. The numbers will speak for themselves. The study that everyone has relied on for years was clearly flawed.
Of course Ohtani will decline in the second half. Most will. It’s called regression. To think they can’t heal after a few days rest is absurd.
Of course Ohtani will decline in the second half. Most will. It’s called regression. To think they can’t heal after a few days rest is absurd.
A player can’t swing a bat for three four minute sessions?
The HR Derby is fancy batting practice with an audience. At some point you have to let guys live without wringing your hands over possible injuries. You can’t force them to live their lives inside their houses wrapped in bubble wrap.
You might want to actually, ya know, get into a ballpark early enough to actually watch batting practice. Then you’ll see it’s nothing like HR Derby. Players do not swing for the fences throughout each batting practice, only during a portion of it … usually at the very end.
And they don’t swing with max effort against a time clock.
Players don’t swing max effort in batting practice? Swinging isn’t like pitching. How many hitters swing like Tony Pena? They pretty much swing max effort all the time. A lot of these claims about the contest hurting players can’t be backed up so folks just make up evidence.
False
Joe Maddon is 100% pro Ohtani being in the derby.
I loved his comment. “This game is suppose to be fun.”
It may explain why the Angels are two games over 500 in spite of Trout, Rendon, a horrible bullpen, a starting staff that strives to be mediocre, and one of the hardest schedules in baseball so far.
Welcome back, my friends To the show that never ends We’re so glad you could attend Come inside! Come inside Anaheim stadium Shohei Ohtani show
Thanks for the old guy song reference. I think only you, Halo11 and I know the song.
Disagree!!!
Brain Solid Surgery. Great album, of course I have it.
I never had any albums by ELP.
Salad.
Brain SALAD Surgery. Using voice-to-text?
Of my god. For forty plus years I thought it was brain solid surgery. I guess that’s proof I didn’t look it up,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gdrh3qu8SQ
in all your ways acknowledge him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3kcvHuMnaU
You’ve got to see the show, it’s a dynamo.
Adam Duvall should participate in the home run derby.
Matt Olson mashing taters at Coors? LETS GOOOOOOO
See the shooooooo
Hee Sop?
The greatest Sho on earth
We need 16 or 12 guys and one round or two are max. Guys get too burnt out doing 3/4 rounds it’s too taxing. You telling me judge or Vlad or Acuna wouldn’t do it if they only have to go all out for 3 mins once? Exactly I’ve come up with the best solution.
Big W for baseball
There’s no business like Sho business like no business I know
Took me a while to get here.
Looks like dude is for real, either way you slice him, or both
look, this guy is great and all, but can we agree MLB.com is obsessed with him
For good reason; he’s a generational talent having a historic breakout season
yeah, but there are 29 other teams with 26 players on each to talk about.
Not sure if you’ve heard but baseball has been in the process of slowly dying for, I don’t know, the last decade? You’ll have to excuse MLB for pushing their most marketable and young exciting talent. Or maybe we can spend all year talking about John Means and Evan Longoria as you prefer.
John Means is an interesting and compelling player to talk about.
And only Vlad Jr and Tatis Jr have hit as many homeruns as Ohtani?
Not even. Ohtani has 32 to their 27 and 28.
I think was are taking this generational talent a bit too far. The guy has only pitched 106 innings in his entire career (I understand TJ surgery and all) so it’s not as if he’s done a whole lot.
His hitting is a bit clearer and he does seem to do well in this category. The real question is what do these numbers look like if he does pitch every five games and hits regularly. I don’t think he or his numbers would hold up.
In the end, I need to see more pitching and more playing time overall. Give him another two years and then we’ll really know.
Can you name a few other elite hitters who have pitched to a sub 4 FIP in 100 innings?
What you’re just not going to appreciate him until he reaches 400 innings pitched?
So far he’s been a a front line starter and an elite bat. Anyone who isn’t enjoying him or doesn’t think he’s a generational talent need to give their head a shake.
I’m not saying I don’t enjoy him but we need more time to determine if he is a generational talent. By your standards a guy can have an awesome first 100 ABs so we should classify him as a great.
For Otani, we just don’t know yet. We have to let the Law of Large Numbers find his true mean. You can’t know this until you have more data.
Rick Ankiel, almost
None of that has anything to do with his talent. There are tons of talented players all over sports who don’t make it for tons of reasons. It doesn’t take away from the talent they have/had. Even if he never plays another game, it doesn’t take away from what he’s done, and for this snapshot in time he’s doing things never before seen, or things that haven’t been seen for generations… therefore, he has generational talent.
You’re looking at one side of the ball.
Just the fact that he’s justifying a major league roster spot as both a starting pitcher and an offensive player is enough to give him the title.
At the same time cheeky one
Ankiel never did full time hitting and pitching at the same time. He only played OF once his pitching career was over. Ohtanis approach of dominating from both sides is quite amazing (thus far).
There was a lot of hype surrounding Ohtani when he first announced interest in crossing over to the MLB. Some agents/scouts speculated that he could earn himself a $200M contract, had he waited two additonal years, yet having never played American ball. I, along with many others, scoffed at that notion. Ohtani obviously has greater motivations than money. He’s finally hitting his stride and living up to that hype. His overall talent is unmatched today while he’s unnecessarily putting himself through the rigors of doing everything. We can’t predict the future. To me, Ohtani is greatness in both performance and spirit.
Too much is put on him being a two way player. He is a good pitcher and a great hitter but not the best in his division let alone league at either. I’m sure there are other players out there that could excel in both if they put the work in. Rick Ankiel and Matt Bush have both shown that a major league player on either side of the ball can switch and make it back to MLB and excel. Several players are drafted out of college and the teams switch them from position players to pitchers and vice versa. Ohtani isn’t going to make that much more in salary excelling at both and who knows he could become the best hitter or pitcher in baseball if he chose one and trained specifically for it. Think of the game tape alone he has to watch when prepping for both the pitchers and hitters of an upcoming game. Honestly, I truly believe he is making a mistake and hurting his overall career by not choosing one and training for it alone. He could always switch later on if he feels he chose wrong.
“ The real question is what do these numbers look like if he does pitch every five games and hits regularly. I don’t think he or his numbers would hold up.”
Other than you’re a hater, why is this a question?
NO ONE is doing ANYTHING closer to what he’s doing. Who tf cares if he fits your model of what a player should do?
“ Rick Ankiel and Matt Bush have both shown that a major league player on either side of the ball can switch and make it back to MLB and excel. ”
Excel!?!? Hahahaha cmon dude. NEITHER of those guys excelled on both sides of the ball. He’ll, barely one side of the ball
No. They are not ohtani. In their wildest dreams they don’t have the professional success Ohtani already has achieved
Wow that’s a long comment full of absolute trash opinions
This is a perfect example of someone looking for any reason….any reason at all…to nit-pick at something extraordinary. If you’re looking for a reason to not like something you’re always going to find it, even if you have to make it up.
So yes, while Ohtani has only been able to put on the two-way spectacle for a half-season so far this year along with about a 2-month stretch in 2018 and therefore does not have a sustained track record doing it at the MLB level, it does not take away from how absolutely extraordinary what he is doing actually is.
Put it this way, if he continues at his current pace, which will be roughly .270/.350/.630 with around 40 HR & 100 RBI……AND……20-22 starts and 120-140 IP with an ERA in the low 3’s and close to 200 K’s, he will be the AL MVP in a landslide. It won’t even be close. Yet commenters like the above will still find a way to nit-pick it. “Ok, great, let’s see him do it again next year. Or for 3-5 years straight.”
In other words, for ever bar the haters set, they will just continue raising it when he reaches them. Anything other than giving him his just due.
And as for the HR Derby being an injury risk or affecting performance afterwards, Ohtani’s manager – Joe Maddon – says “All that stuff about the HR Derby being an injury risk or affecting performance negatively afterward is all just conjecture. I don’t subscribe to any of it. This is a game. It is supposed to be fun, and the HR Derby along with the entire All-Star week is a celebration of that. When you have an extraordinary talent like Shohei, you don’t hold him back. You let him play. You let him have fun.”
I couldn’t have said it better…
Mike Trout is a generational talent. The likes Tatis, Ohtani and Vlad Jr.need to perform like they are this year for a full decade before that conversation can begin for them imo.
No way are you not Matt Bush.
The other side of the coin: Tatis has already done more in the postseason than Trout will in his career.
Go look at Ohtani’s whiff rates. He’s got the stuff. If playing time is the most important thing to you, how are you not impressed with his stats DESPITE being held to the outings he’s had? Logic seems backwards here
Madison Bumgarner. He could have been an elite hitter, if he had been allowed. Several other pitchers could have also. Ohtani is not unique in talent, he is unique in opportunity to thrive.
@ bucketbrew35
Barring injury or something unforeseen, Tatis, Vlad and Otani are only going to get better as they hit their prime.
Doesn’t make sense really. Isn’t the fact that Ohtani forced his way in to a 2 way player the key in everything? It’s not opportunity it’s desire.
His desire to be both and actually thrive is the attraction here. Saying oh so and so could have does this or that is empty
Even at Ankiels best he never threw 100 mph, and he never hit 30 homeruns before the all star break, or in a single year…..
Hiflew: But could Madison do both at the same time like Ohtani? Doubt it. Bumgarner could have been a good hitter OR a pitcher but likely not both. Developing both skills at the same time ain’t easy.
Dan: Eh, many greats peak in their early to mid twenties (Ohtani is 28, so doesn’t even apply). They’ll have great career but the idea they are bound to improve as they age is a myth.
I think Ken Brett could have done both. Ken Brett was a marvelous hitter.
And Mike Trout isn’t? True he’s having a very good season but generational talent….you make him sound like Babe Ruth,Lou Gehrig, Cy Young, and Willie Mays combined!
Agreed. Trout has proven he is the generational talent of the past decade. Bonds might have been before him but we will never know because of the roids. The only player I can remember being anywhere near as dominant year after year for a decade was Greg Maddux. If you weren’t around to watch him in his prime you truly missed what a generational pitching talent looked like. Imagine Kershaw without the problems in the playoffs and without the injuries. He destroyed hitters year after year and was a top 3 Cy Young for almost an entire decade winning 4 in a row. In the last 100 years there have only been 5 times a pitcher had an ERA under 1.80 for an entire season. Maddux did it back to back in 94-95. His fastball rarely broke 90mph and usually sat around 88-89. That’s a generational talent. He was hands down the best starter of the steroid era without a whiff of it getting on him. He was actually kinda small for a starter. He was built like Luis Severino but didn’t overpower like Sevy. He also pitched well into his 40’s without a serious arm injury. I’m sorry but Ohtani isn’t even in the best of baseball talk this year. It’s way too early to tag him as generational. Honestly I doubt Ohtani stays a two-way pitcher more than another year or two anyway. Madison Bumgarner is a good hitter too. I bet if he trained hard as a two way player he could become a DH as well. He chose pitching and minus the injuries I bet he would be in the conversation with Kershaw and Scherzer as the latest generational pitcher.
Yankees-killer Pedro Martinez deserves to be in this conversation. Not taking away from Maddux, the ultimate craftsman.
Well any guesses on when Bonds actually started juicing is of course pure speculation. Some assume he did it his whole career, while others think he didn’t start until he was into his mid-30s after the spectacle that was the 1998 McGwire/Sosa HR chase. Some say Bonds started using after that because he wanted to break the HR record and get that attention for himself.
Looking at Bonds’ career numbers, there is some support for the argument that he didn’t start using until after 1999. The 1999 season was Bonds’ age-34 season and represented career-lows to that point in games played, BA & OPS since becoming a full-time player. Additionally, he had only broken the 40-HR plateau twice in his career prior to 2000.
He then proceeded to brake 40 HRs for 5 consecutive seasons from 2000-2004 including his record setting 73 HR season in 2001. The 2000-2004 seasons were his age 35-39 seasons.
The point is, the numbers suppprt an argument that he did not start using until after his injury-plagued 1999 season. However, he was already considered the best player in baseball and had been since his days in Pittsburgh in the late 80s. By the definitions of “generational” discussed here, Bonds performance from 1987-1998 would classify him as “generational” if you assume he was clean to that point.
“What can I say? ….The Yankees are my daddy” -Pedro Martinez, Sept. 24, 2004
This take just keeps looking worse and worse lmao. Ohtani is easily the most special player you’ve ever watched, and barring health will go down as one of the all time greats lol.
Maddux’s teammate, who’s in the Hall of Fame, thinks Ohtani could be the best pitcher in baseball. So there’s that.
“Excuse me, Mr. deGrom would like a word with you”.
Pedro is top 10 pitcher all time. I don’t care about any argument someone wants to make. Go watch Pedro videos from his prime on YouTube and tell me different. His stuff was something else. And LA didn’t think his body would hold up and he was a workhorse.
Just imagine the Yankees team with Sho on it. Not often a international free agent heavily pursued by them gets a thanks but no thanks. Then Cashman pivoted and traded for Mike (Giancarlo) Stanton. They need starting pitching and a left handed power bat. If they had Sho they’d be doing much better.
Finally, the MLB is starting to market players. About time.
Is there a reason they shouldn’t be highlighting him?
Highlighting and obsession are quite different.
International superstar is what all of baseball needs. Ichiro was great for the game.
It figures an Angels fan would say Ichiro, a great regular season player that did virtually nothing in the playoffs, was great for the game. Ichiro was a very good player, probably an elite player, but he was hardly game changing. Sorry, but if you don’t do it in the playoffs, all those great stats are nothing but trivia.
That’s why Ernie Banks isn’t in the HOF and is not considered one of the greatest shortstops of all time.
Ichiro hit over 340 in the postseason.
Congratulations on the dumbest post of the year.
Who doesn’t consider Ernie Bank one of the greatest Shortstops of all time?
Yes, there are many other very good ballplayers around the league besides him….we keep hearing about his May 25th homer at 117 over and over and over again while there are harder hit balls other than his (see the article above)!
Yeah, you’re right, they should stop talking about a generational, international talent doing things never before seen in the sport. Let’s get back to what matters like the Astros cheating, or pitchers cheating, or terrible teams like the Yankees. That stuff is definitely better for baseball!
im just saying they can talk about other things. coverage is not bad. it’s constant though. we dont need a new Ohtani article every start and sevaral times in between too.
DarSide…you won’t convince all these Ohtani lovers that there are other good ballplayers around the league and that what he’s doing isn’t the greatest feat ever in major league baseball…..better than any other ballplayer ever to play! Give him the MVP, and C Young right now and throw in the Home Run Derby award also……
Is there anyone with more consistent hater comments than DarkSiide?
I love this new age way of arguing.
“Wow ohtani is such a great player and pitcher, so exciting, unbelievable talent and fun to watch!”
“Oh so what you’re saying is he’s the best player of all time and there’s no other good players?”
How do you people hold jobs
@DarkSide830
I suspect there is a lot of confirmation bias in your statement that Ohtani articles are “constant” or reflect an obsessive quality. If you start with that opinion, every article you see will confirm your opinion even though there are multitudes of articles about other players (Guerrro, Tatis, deGrom, Cole, Acuna, Soto, etc.). Sure, there are a lot of articles about “star” players doing good things, but that’s always been the case.
And maybe Ohtani gets a bit more coverage because he does noteworthy things on both the hitting and pitching side, so there’s more opportunities for things to cover. But that is not evidence of journalistic obsession, but a reflection of the unique nature of what Ohtani is doing.
Or maybe it’s a function of the news outlets that you rely on. Other than site devoted to my favorite team, I’m mostly getting my baseball news from MLBTR, the Athletic, FanGraphs, MLB.com, and the occasional YouTubers (Fuzzy, GiraffeNeckMark, Foolish, etc.), and I certainly don’t feel overwhelmed by the amount of Ohtani coverage on those sites.
Even Vlad Jr. says he’s the MVP.
I can’t say enough about the Athletic. Used to be Fangraphs but they lost a lot of very good writers in recent years and chats now are lukewarm at best.
I guess you guys forgot FERNANDO MANIA.
I’ll go back even further, Mark The Bird Fidrych.
Look, when something is very unique it will get more attention. Ohtani falls into that category. There was a guy named Bo Jackson who was very good, he got an incredible amount of attention because he was also simultaneously very good playing in the NFL.
And there was another guy named Neon Deion Sanders who wasn’t good, but he also got a lot of attention for playing football simultaneously.
Ohtani deserves the publicity because there’s currently nobody like him.
Bo Knows.
@Dusty Who said we have jobs? This IS our job. I agree that it is quite polarizing in here. Which side of the fence are you on and you must pick one?
And McGwire/Sosa…
Vlad Jr doesn’t have a vote, so his opinion is no more valid than mine or yours.
They could talk about teams tanking and front offices not trying their best to win.
That would be a good start.
Atleast they could still highlight the Angels.
Heyooo
@PeteWard8 Always that one guy who likes to inject his negative energy with an unrelated topic. Hugs, bro. Have you considered that some topics are only as good as their sources? What exec is going to openly-admit to a reporter that their own organization is in the midst of tanking as you allege.
Yankees- Theo and Hahn have openly spoke about their “rebuilds”. Where have you been? Its tanking and its also the front office openly not trying their best to win. Wake up Sis.
MLB.com is trash website ran by people who don’t understand baseball. It’s why I left working there. They care more about headlines than substance. Look no further than the Cespedes Family BBQ losers to see what everyone in charge of content is like.
I beg to differ, Steve. A few of their writers are like what you described but there are some very good writers there as well. When you have a big website attempting to appeal to a mass audience, it’s inevitably going to have click-bait, hollow fluff pieces. It takes a bit of effort to sort through what interests me.
It goes deeper than just writers my dude. That is what I am saying. It’s culture of people who don’t care about baseball covering baseball by pretending to care.
If you think mlb.com is obsessed with Ohtani, what do you think they are in terms of Tatis??
Ohtani is PITCHING like a TOR arm and still hitting on a similar level to Tatis. No freakin crp he’s being talked about…
If you are not enjoying Ohtani, who is someone you will never see again, there is something wrong with you. Enjoy it as long as it lasts. I’m thrilled I got to see Mark the Bird, and you should be thrilled to see this.
i never said i dont enjoy his talent
oh, all those ‘he’s done!’ trolls!
Ever wonder why this site will cover this but glance over anything accusing the Yankees Organization of wrong doing? They were mentioned by a beat reporter again with regards to cheating allegations. I’m not referring to Garrett Cole, I’m referring to the Yankees as a whole. They legit never touch on it if it comes up.
What are you talking about? What allegations?
everyone’s always alleging something. is this more credible then the last time?
bigger problem is the mlb treating yankees as a team above all else. what’s good for the yanks is not good for the league anymore. it may be one of the reasons why baseball is lagging behind. of course, moronic manfraud doesn’t help.
It could be true but it seems kinda sketchy. Need more info.
Didn’t the reported rescind the allegations yesterday within hours of making them?
You’re talking about the guy who basically cried on Twitter about how wrong he was for reporting something false…?
That’s why
Now if Ohtani pitches to himself in the Derby, THEN I’ll be impressed. 😉
like you do yourself in a restroom?
Immature and completely unnecessary, time to go to bed.
Aragon….Learned that comeback this year in 3rd Grade did you?
It was one of his several years in 3rd Grade, not sure which.
I wanna see Olson smashing bombs
I’m a Rangers fan and all I can say is Ohtani is a class act all the way be great for the game to have a guy like him on center stage with all his talent and character on display for the fans and especially young kids interested in baseball he’s a great example to follow
Starting the ASG isn’t center stage to you?
He was never arguing that he wasnt getting center stage, or that starting the ASG isnt center stage enough, something that isn’t even close to confirmed yet.
It won’t make the HRD any less boring.
Do not care about the HR Derby. Maybe if they did this during the off season for charity – I might care. But it’s boring and there’s no challenge to it. Maybe if they had targets to hit or at maybe even having opposite field HR count double there could be some strategy. As it is it’s glorified batting practice.
Having it in the off-season is a terrible idea
The all star game and HR derby, as well as the sponsors do a lot for charity during the event.
They had it in the off season 20 years ago, did you watch?
Me neither nor for the ASG. They’re exhibitions which were somehow was made to determine WS homefield advantage for a brief period. Glad that ended. The contests do however have corporate sponsors who donate to charitable causes based on their outcomes. It does take tremendous stamina and focus for athletes to keep swinging for the fences.
People actually watch the home run derby?
yes, yes they do.
Seems to be in the minority opinion, but I like the home run derby more than the all-star game. No real reason, just do. I don’t like how it seems a lot of players are all-or-nothing swingers, or three-true-outcome players, nor do I want them to have a swing-off to end extra inning games. I just like the Home Run derby in July.
Hey it’s easier to hit a deep fly than lay down a good bunt to move the runner on second over to set up a sac fly situation. Would you then rather see a suicide squeeze attempt or see someone with a higher chance of success to hit the ball hard and score the run to win?
put crawford in the derby – we haven’t had a giant in there since bonds, it’s been almost 20 years
HR Derby is boring.
So you think the home run derby is boring maybe if one of your players on your team would participate you would change your mind
Nope.
Same here for me. I enjoy seeing players from different teams goofing around together more than the actual event.
as a giants fan we could have a guy with 40 HRs @ the all star break and they wouldn’t get in
I mean, I’ve no interest in the derby whatsoever no matter who is in it.
OK grasshopper
it is super boring when you have no one to root for
He’s also going to be tossing the balls to him self, Bugs Bunny style.
Doesn’t he actually have a eephus pitch? lol
As a Japanese American this is the second greatest day of my life!
I understands all the sentiments expressed here. But i will tell you I’m close to 70, have been obsessed with MLB since I was about 2, and I’ve never seen anything like Ohtani. It’s not only his (obvious) talent; it’s the way he carries himself, his reported great club house presence, etc. He’s just flippin’ amazing.
As for the Derby, despite my fandom, I’ve never watched it; always thought it was silly.
But I’ll watch it this year, for one reason. And it ain’t to see Pete Alonzo.
Alonzo was a class act and gave half his winnings to the military. That’s the only area I disagree with you. Other than that, spot on.
And half the car as well. I’ve seen some of his phone calls to select young fans. Genuine good dude.
Alonso didn’t give half his winnings to the U.S. Military. That’s flat-out wrong and would have been foolish on his part considering how well-funded the military is.They don’t need his money.
Alonso pledged 5 percent to the Wounded Warriors Project, which aids military veterans, and 5 percent to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, which raises money for families of first responders. Each donation had a value of $50,000.
Yes, he is a good guy who many baseball fans can learn from. After George Floyd’s murder, he rightfully denounced people who mindlessly respond to Black Lives Matter by saying “All Lives Matter.”
From his Instagram post:
“Get out of here with that ignorance. Of course, everybody’s life matters but we’re focusing on the widespread racism in our country right now. The question is, why does the black lives matter movement bother you enough to have to say all lives matter?”
Ignorance, dude. Some people choose to live in a bubble and want to maintain the status quo. If these issues minorities face don’t effect me nor my community, BLM becomes a threat so let’s put a stop to this to prevent any possible ripple effect.
Good because it’s actually Pete Alonso that will be participating
Big mistake – This could affect his pitching and sometime altering style just to appease a crowd can have lingering effects.
Yeah, it seems pretty reckless for the Angels to be on board with their 1A player with a litany of injuries in his young past participating in a meaningless derby. But whatever, the Angels are a joke franchise.
Hell ya! Seen him in Oakland on Wednesday! Dudes awesome!
mlb’s political agenda ruined it for me. Pass.
What specific “agenda” are you passing on with Ohtani? If there is something about him that troubles you, then you’re ruining it for yourself.
See ya!
“He’s gonna play… and by God he’s gonna win!”-Chubbs Peterson
angel’s should give him $2 million not to participate
See the sho
I think it’s great that Ohtani is going to participate. I’d like to see Trout do one eventually too. It’s all we have to celebrate other than mediocrity.
PETE!
Jeb!
Could Wander Franco participate? Would be a cool story!
How thrilling.
I dont see the appeal of Story in the Derby. if anyone from COL, I’d tab McMahon
I would also be wary of trading an or signing Story. Those home/road splits are pretty drastic.
See Arenado and DJL.
Arenado was not as drastic as Story. Nolan is hitting about what he was projected based on road numbers – around 270 30 ish homers.
Story’s career numbers based on 500 AB’s looking at 34 homers vs 21, and .305 vs .244 avg.
Pretty sure players with zero major league accomplishments are not eligible. Nobody knows who Ryan McMahon is. It’s not hard to understand.
Bet you McMahon is the Rockies All-Star this year, not Story
Cinderella Story, out of nowhere, former batboy, now, about to become the Home Run Derby Champion. [Swings, pulverizes yet another flower] It looks like a mirac- It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!
He was a 1st round pick how is that a Cinderella story?
I expect Umpires to pat down the BP thrower between throws for illegal substances.
Make it two rounds and more players will compete. These guys are exhausted by the end in what is suppose to be their one extended break over a six month period.
The prize money is nice, but again less volume will bring bigger names to the plate.
Who thought an article about Home Run Derby could be so contentious.
Never change MLBTR.
Ohtani does amaze me.
When he came over, I scoffed loudly that “nobody can be that good.”
But he continues to surprise me.
Still, it’s all about showmanship, which has helped keep baseball alive all these years.
Don Drysdale could probably have gone both ways, but I’d rather remember him just the way he was. A pitcher who could get hits.
I wonder how many will remember Ohtani when he is done and gone.
unfortunately a lot will forget him.
Just like Trout, Ohtani will never see a postseason run as long as hes playing for the Angels.
Damn shame too. would love to see those two deep in a playoff series. Would be great for the MLB brand to have Trout and Ohtani center stage in October
That’s a broken record You need to find a new handle Cheesehead
Trey Mancini is going to win for the feel-good moment. He’ll beat Ohtani in the finals.
No, he doesn’t need to win for the feel good moment, just showing up is enough of a feel good moment for him.
Now Trevor Story winning for the home crowd in a very down year as a send off before he gets trade would be THE feel good moment of this derby.
And hometown guys always do good in the derbies. 2 of the last 5 have been hometown players. Todd Frazier won in Cincy, Bryce won in Washington.
K. You’re the expert.
Joey Gallo please .. if not for the off chance he swings n misses
Gallo swinging and missing seven times would be worth the watch alone.
Needs Tatis and/or Guerrero to really stand out.
I think we will live without them. If I never see Tater Tot play again, I’ll be okay with it.
Vlad jr. is on mvp pace and maybe triple crown. He’s playing good D at first. Jays may not make playoffs, but at his current pace a huge contract is waiting. HR derby might jinx a career season.
Do not care. If this was done in the off season (maybe with a player profile) for charity it might be interesting. As it is – it’s boring and there is no strategy to it. If there were targets to hit or HR hit to opposite field were worth double it might be interesting.
The home run derby is stupid. It is boring. It is batting practice. Having some 70 year old lob balls for these guys to whack is well… batting practice.
They might as well hit off a tee. I am impressed with a towering home run hit off of a nasty pitcher, not batting practice.
And yes. We’re talkin’ about practice. Practice. Not the game, practice.
I get it, have your little dumb homer derby. Marvel at the long tape measure shots hit in… practice.
okay and?
And yet here you are commenting about something you find stupid.
You should go see a psychiatrist
why
Perez is an interesting participant. Should be a fun HR Derby.
Patrick Wisdom
It’s a strange lineup for the HR Derby. Behind Ohtani where are the rest our power hitters?where is Vladdy Jr, Tatis, Schwarber, Acuña, Semien, Devers, Gallo?
Tatis doesn’t need any further stress on his injured shoulder. Vladdy Jr. simply declined to participate.
Would be fun to see Gallo and most of those other guys.
Schwarber injured
Do the next two need to be NL? Freeman, Castellanos, Bryant, & Muncy all stand out as potential candidates. It’s also often a way to get marketing cred before a contract is up.
East Coast, NL players with at least 15 HRs and will be free agents at the end of the year….
Hoskins, Freeman, Duvall
While they are at it they should have Dylan Bundy participate in the HR derby, as a pitcher.
Love to see Alonzo focus on the season and set this one out,bit of course hopefully he represents us well and wins it, but I’m thinking with Mancini he could be the surprise ,dude is a fighter and has a great swing.
Good field for the HR Derby should be competitive/ fun to watch in Colorado.
Agree. Tip my hat to mlb. Best looking field in a while
It does look like a great field of players, but would have loved to see a couple of Judge/Vlad/Pederson/Stanton/Schwarber involved.
shouldve had Hoskins over Story or Salvy…
How about make the AS team first before putting someone in derby
Disagree. Stanton was awesome in the derby a few years ago.
@DarkSide830 I disagree with you on Story. Gotta have a hometown hero in the contest.
2021 The Year of Ohtani. The first player to make the AS game as both a pitcher and hitter. Would love to see him win this.
MVP is next. .
He wasn’t selected as a pitcher.. he wasn’t listed as a selected pitcher either.. he was voted as a DH who just happens to pitch
@fathead0507 Sorry, you are misinformed.
https://www.aol.com/shohei-ohtani-made-major-league-165257787.html
I thought the HR derby had to have equal players from the NL vs. AL? If I follow this correctly, there are only 3 NL players competing vs. 5 AL players. Am I mistaken? (Soto, Alonzo & Story vs. Ohtani, Olson, Gallo, Mancini & Perez). How did Tatis & Vlad Jr. turn this down? Devers too.
Its no longer a nl vs al event. In 2018 AL had only one player in it.
@Dorothy Tatis turned it down because of his shoulder.
whatever, we giants fans never care about it.
I wouldn’t say we never care, but it isn’t the most important thing to us
@whormongr I agree, I usually don’t care, but this year I got a dog in the fight.
I have Gallo