On the heels of the beginning of the 2023 MLB draft last night, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. The 2023 Home Run Derby:
A staple of All-Star festivities, the Home Run Derby returns tonight with a group of eight sluggers set to battle it out for a $1MM prize. This year the participants, in order of seeding, are: Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, Pete Alonso of the Mets, Mookie Betts of the Dodgers, Adolis Garcia of the Rangers, Randy Arozarena of the Rays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays, Julio Rodriguez of the Mariners, and Adley Rutschman of the Orioles.
Robert, Betts, Garcia, Arozarena, and Rutschman are all first-time participants in the derby. Rodriguez participated in the derby last year, storming to the finals before losing by just one homer to reigning champion Juan Soto. With Soto not participating this season, the most recent derby winner in tonight’s field is Alonso, who won the contest in both 2021 and 2019, with his 2019 victory coming in a hard-fought final against Guerrero. This year’s Home Run Derby will take place at 7pm CT and air on ESPN.
2. Day 2 of the 2023 MLB draft:
Day 1 of the MLB draft began with the Pirates selecting LSU right-hander Paul Skenes with the first overall pick. By the end of the night, 70 picks had been made in total. The draft will kick back into gear for Day 2 at 1pm CT this afternoon, with rounds three through ten slated to take place today. While much of the top-tier talent was already selected on Day 1, a handful of top players remain on the board. Virginia Tech outfielder Jack Hurley (No. 36 in the class, per MLB Pipeline) and prep right-hander Travis Sykora (No. 40) represent the top college and high school players remaining, respectively, per MLB.com. The Athletic’s Keith Law lists prep shortstop Roch Cholowsky (No. 23) as the top high schooler available, while Vanderbilt lefty Hunter Owen (No. 38) is his top remaining college player.
3. Pham to undergo MRI:
Mets outfielder Tommy Pham departed yesterday’s loss to the Padres in the first inning due to right groin soreness. Per MLB.com, Pham will undergo an MRI today to determine the severity of the issue. With the Mets not scheduled to play until Friday due to the All Star break, it’s possible that Pham’s injury won’t end up requiring him to miss any time at all, though a more severe issue would be an unfortunate turn of events for both Pham and the Mets. Not only has Pham been an impactful bat for the Mets this season, with a .277/.350/.485 slash line in 234 plate appearances that’s good for a wRC+ of 130, but a significant injury at this point on the calendar would surely complicate the club’s ability to shop Pham ahead of the trade deadline on August 1. The 35-year-old veteran made the top 10 of MLBTR’s recent Top 50 Deadline Trade Candidates as the top outfielder listed.
Right groin soreness? Result of too much friction?
All Star week has become so boring. I know it would never happen because players nowadays are overpaid and always injury-prone but I’d like them to spice it up and get a few new events going.
Highest Exit Velocity
Catcher Pop-Time Competition
Fastest Outfield Throw
Fly-Ball Competition
Race Around the Bases
Precision Hitting
I don’t need to see celebrities’ playing a watered down beer league game and nor do I need to see 2 or 3 hours of Homerun derby. It’s just too much, especially since they’re essentially doing batting practice and not actually facing 95+ fastballs. Get a pitching machine and ramp it up to 95+ for the HR derby. Then we’ll see who is the actual HR derby king.
How exactly does player pay and player fragility have anything to do with All-Star festivities? Putting too large of expectations into an irrelevant practice of peacocking. Use this time to appreciate less distractions from preventing your neighbors treading on your lawn.
Darn neighbors on my lawn.
@rundmc1981
If you bothered to read my post, you would understand…
Old York: Instead of messing around with statistics, like exit velocity, fastest OF throw, etc., How about some events that really matter: How fast a player can undress from their street clothes and put on their uniforms, How many stolen bases can a player get on the oversized. bases and seeing how many times a catcher can throw them out; base hit derby. A HR disqualifies you; how many gold necklaces can wear before falling over. I think those additions would make you tune in.
I seem to remember a competition for bunting and being awed by the skills of one Rod Carew, just placing the ball where ever he wanted.
@avenger65
I love it!
But honestly, do BP homeruns get you excited? If you want to see BP homeruns, just visit the stadium before the game starts. I’d rather see a pitching machine throwing curves, sliders, FBs, etc., and see if the players can mash HRs.
@stymeedone
Sure, add that in. It’s a skill.
Drunk Bunt Derby!
Old York: 100 years ago bb was a lot of singles, doubles, hit-and-run, etc. Then Babe Ruth came along and started hitting HRs. Fans loved it. To this day, that’s what people want to see. My brother would be working and he had me record only Dave Kingman’ ABs when he played for the cubs. It took him less than five minutes to watch the recording. That’s why they have a HR derby. Personally, I’d like to see a triples derby, the hardest hit to get. Elly de la Cruz would be the odds on favorite.
How are you gonna do a triples derby? It’s dependent on speed and the players will be gassed after 2 triples.
@avenger65
I have nothing against HRs in a game but this HR derby is just BP.
Bstrowman9: It would work like this. A person of the player’s choice would stand on 2b and throw the ball into the LF or RF corner. Then those kids who shag fly balls during HR derby would chase after the ball. They would then throw it 10 feet behind themself. Thenthey tried to throw it to the third baseman, a kid that was too heavy to shag fly balls. It would keep the fans riveted
Old York: A lot of people come to see hitting practice. A lot of fans are THAT HR crazy. But I do see your point.
The skills challenges they used to have during the NBA and NFL all star weekends were more fun to watch than the actual game imo
If you look at the “prize” money being paid to millionaires to just participate in the home run derby, you can see how the players look at it. They dont even want to participate. Its kinda like an ala carte restaurant, these days. You pay the player $20MM, and they want a bonus if they make the all star team, or win an award for their performance. For $20MM, if you dont make the all star team, or win an award, you should be giving money back! Baez owes Detroit quite the refund!
stymeedone: So, you think Pete Alonso doesn’t want to participate? A two-time champion? Maybe his mom threatened to lock him in the basement if he didn’t compete. And I’m sure the paltry $1m goes the player’s favorite charity.
Re: Pham, the Yankees will probably make the trade for him, and, as soon as it’s done, Pham will report some lingering soreness. Two weeks later, he will go on the 60 day disabled. list. It’s what the Yankees do these days.
I’ll be at the home run derby section 111 to the right of the right field foul pole. But ask the batters are right handed! Adley is switch. Anyone know what side he’ll hit from?
I read somewhere that he said he’s going from the left side. I’m just a couple sections down in 108 so I’m in the same boat. Tough year to have right field derby seats!
Rickoppelt, Ned8: Don’t forget a lot of players go with the pitch, meaning rf won’t be a dead zone. Also, there is the time-honored tradition of making your way to CF or LF. Good luck to both of you! I hope you catch one !
Left.
Should MLB be embarrassed that the chant of sell the team and stay in Oakland echoed at the MLB draft yesterday. Shows that MLB fans do not like seeing Oakland get screwed over by MLB and not caring about MLB fans.
I didn’t hear that chant on TV, but I absolutely loved it when manfreak got booed every time he came out. If I was there I would have shouted “Stop ruining our game, you (expletive of your choosing)!”
I absolutely loved it when manfreak got booed
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Every commissioner gets booed. Manfred has been a great commissioner.
“Oakland doesn’t care about the A’s.”
Because their owner is the worst in the sport and has done everything be can to purposely drive fans away to move the team to Vegas. He’s been a penny-pinching miser for 20+ years. How are we still blaming fans for this when the owner has tried to get them to not care for over two decades?
And also, do you magically expect people in Las Vegas to care about a historically bad team run by an extremely cheap owner who is bilking them out of money for the privilege of building him a stadium to house his horrible team?
Fans are not the issue here at all.
He’s going to spend some money or sell the team at a higher value when they have a brand new stadium in Vegas.
Agree on the second part but not the first. He’s not going to spend but he might sell the team after it’s in Vegas.
Because their owner is the worst in the sport
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Nonsense, and not remotely close. Oakland has been a consistent winner under Fisher’s ownership, despite no fan support. 7 playoff appearances since 2005.
Teams without 7 playoff appearnaces?
BAL
TOR
MIN
DET
KCR
TEX
SEA
LAA
CWS
PHI
NYM
WSN
MIA
MIL
PIT
CIN
SDP
SFG
COL
ARI
Teams with more playoff appearances since 2005?
NYY
BOS
LAD
TBR
Given the revenue discrepancies, one could easily claim that Oakland has been one of the most successful franchises in BB under Fisher’s guidance.
Who you guys got today?!?! I think Polar Bear is on a mission and Julio is gonna be pumped up at home. I’ll take the winner of that first round matchup.
Somebody tell Mike Elias he can’t only draft college outfielders.
Side note; I wish they would do the all star game here every year. Walking to the store with my dog and it’s by far the cleanest everything has been in like 10 years? Not an exaggeration. The usual homeless homies that we say hi to are long gone. No tents downtown. Wow
Wow, they cleaned it up since I was last there two years ago? That’s good. It was depressing seeing how bad the city got from the previous time I’d visited two years prior. Its one thing to have homelessness, its another to be a full on shanty town.
Yeah…they glammed up Seattle like they did to LA last year. MLB cant let baseball fans see what the crap hole West Coast cities really look like.
brooklyn62 I am glad that you feel that way. I love the east coast bias! Keeps the invasive species away from us. Stay over there. And Google pictures of Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier while you’re at it
You should learn to keep your trap shut, Sodo! I lived in Seattle for 30 years- moved to Eastern Washington 5 years ago. So if you’re talking EASTERN Washington bias,cool! Keep your crap hole Seattle near and dear. Oh, and how many World Series have the M’s been in?
Homeless population of New York: 70,000
Homeless population Seattle: 11,000
Yeah. Way better and cleaner on the streets over there lol
“East cost bias”
“Cognitive dissonance”
Oh yes, the Progressive “homeless” in Seattle only use name brand designer REI tents to shoot up in. Much higher class of tweekers in Sodo.
Goofy, coffee buzzed M’s fans that have to have the scoreboard at T-Mobile tell them when to clap.
I’ll repeat:
Homeless population of New York City; approximately 70 thousand
Homeless population of Seattle; approximately 11 thousand
Your response; “liberal blah blah blah liberal”
Lol
“Cognitive dissonance”
How many World Series appearances for the M’s? Sip your $7 Starbucks Vente, think real hard, Sodo…maybe the scoreboard @ T-Mobile will provide the answer.
Real legacy of baseball fans in Seattle, LOL…
I’m glad you are steering the conversation back towards baseball!
Shoot, you’re right. The mariners have never won a World Series. I guess that makes me less than YOU in some way? Cause the Mets have two and one in my lifetime? I better go off myself lol
Homeless population of New York: 70,000
Homeless population Seattle: 11,000
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Considering that NYC is better than 10x the population, the Seattle homelessness is pretty high.
Meh. It’s definitely gotten progressively worse since I was a kid, but it’s not like we’re in NY or LA territory as far as the homeless go.
then once COVID hit any public funding/manpower for cleaning up the city went bye bye. It got pretty dirty for a while and we’ve been slowly but surely cleaning up. You go to one area and you can tell money has been put into it; then you walk a few blocks down the road and it’s still pretty dangy.
Sodo’s figures are pretty accurate. You can look at homeless figures here:
usafacts.org/articles/which-cities-in-the-us-have-…
The west coast IS worse in total but it’s also a little peculiar that someone with a New York label in their username would be the one to trash talk the west coast about it’s homeless issues.
The numbers per capita are much different than the numbers total. It makes sense that warm weather areas would have more per capita. If you had no roof over your head, where would you want to live?
Then you have the fact that Texas and Florida do not even report to the Department of Housing and Urban Development how many people are homeless in their states.
My territory included the SE, from Texas to Florida, and the numbers they quote in that article are total BS. We passed out meals near just one of many homeless camps in SW Houston and had more than 2000 homeless people come for meals. That was in 2019. From all I have heard the situation has gotten worse.
In Dallas area we passed out 1k blankets in the winter of 2019 in just one homeless encampment. A semi-trailer full of blankets. One blanket per person and it took 8 hours to get them all passed out. We couldn’t even go to the area with the most homeless because the city of Dallas wouldn’t let us.
It’s a problem everywhere. One we need to do more about starting with investing much, much more money in mental health and substance abuse care. For every 40 persons not on insurance that wants help getting off drugs or dealing with mental health issues, there is ONE bed in a treatment facility. For a huge portion of the homeless that is why they are on the street.
I will get off my soapbox now.
@websoulsurfer. Reading your post has the ring of truth to it so maybe you SHOULD be on the soapbox. Good info. I’m a little more informed now.
I will get off my soapbox now.
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No need to. I am a RW-C, and it’s been 30 years since I’ve harbored any delusions about winning the war on drugs. Legalize almost everything, tax the crap out of it, and fund detox centers.
It feels like a no-brainer.
Read the WaPo piece about legalization in Portugal. It’ll change your mind. It changed mine.
I read it briefly. But imho, it is still a problem without a solution. Two of the problems with drugs, without consideration of the junkies, is that we have a million people in jail, we have completely destabilized Mexico, and as an ancillary benefit, have paid billions upon billions for very little progress.
At a minimum, pot should be legalized. It doesn’t really feel much different than my drug of choice (beer), and the fight does nothing but enrich the cartels and every other criminal enterprise in the US.
I’ve studied the field of addiction for 50 years and I still don’t know what policy is best but I’m learning that legalization of all drugs is not a viable one.
As to cannabis, long term use of this drug is debilitating. Withdrawal takes longer than one year while the person addicted to it constantly questions the value of quitting not realizing they are in a full state of fatigue with zero drive to perform even the simplest of tasks.
They’ll be back by Thursday morning
Sykora gonna be a steal.
I would replace the softball game with a form of skills competition, like have to hit the ball in certain areas and make defensive plays.
I liked it when the AS game decided home field advantage. It was the one AS game that wasn’t a complete joke.
Did the scoreboard give you the answer, or did you come up with that yourself,Sodo? Is your M’s lid made out of hemp?
I feel bad for the player drafted by the Texas Rangers whose parents named him “Case Matter.” I guess that’s better than naming him “Doesn’t” though…