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Pujols Turns Down Invite To HR Derby, An Event That Has Totally Lost Its Juice

Jun 29, 2010, 2:50 PM UTC

â†µForgive me if I’m a little out of touch with what’s trendy, but do chicks no longer dig the long ball?â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Home Run Derby used to be the marquee event of All-Star week, but it seems like more and more big stars are looking to beg off from participating, making the Derby feel more like a collection of guys who were too slow to fake an oblique strain in time.â†µ

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â†µâ†µTo infuse a little more, ahem, juice into the event, MLB began letting fans vote for who they want to see swing for the fences. Unfortunately, the vote isn’t binding, so it’s little more than just some ridiculous PR ruse to drum up interest in an increasingly boring event. It was obvious that Albert Pujols only took part in the Home Run Derby last year because it was in St. Louis, so with the game is in Anaheim this season, Pujols feels little obligation to screw up his swing for the second half of the season – long a gripe by players for not wanting to enter the event – by over-swinging through batting practice pitches while fans respectfully ooh and ahh.â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“I don’t have any problem doing it, but I want to concentrate on the second half,” Pujols said. “I enjoyed every moment that I did it. I don’t regret it, and that doesn’t mean I would never do it again. I wouldn’t mind doing it again. I just feel that right now, this is not the time.”â†µâ†µâ†µEvery few years a player comes around and sparks some interest in the Derby that gets people talking about it being “back.” Bobby Abreu broke all sorts of records a few years ago. Ryan Howard had his own record-setting night after that. And everyone remembers Josh Hamilton’s display two years ago at Yankee Stadium. The thing is, everyone also remembers that Hamilton didn’t win the terribly-structured contest that year so as magical as his evening seemed, he didn’t even get to bring home any hardware for his efforts. Hamilton isn’t on the fan ballot this year, begging off well before baseball could make him come up another ailment to preclude his participation. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe worst offense of all? The event isn’t even conducive to television and seems to only serve as an excuse for ESPN to parade out Chris Berman and his “back, back, back” call for three or four hours in primetime.â†µ

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â†µAnd this fan vote? Joe Mauer is the leading AL vote-getter to date and he has three home runs on the season, tied for 92nd in the American League. Still, inexplicably, he's light years ahead of Grady Sizemore who somehow made it onto the ballot in what had to be an MLB clerical error because he hasn't played since May 16th and is currently on the 60-day DL after having knee surgery earlier this month. Sizemore has zero homers this year.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe American League ballot also features Ichiro and his three home runs this season. Do people really want to watch Ichiro try to hit home runs? Let’s say he wins, wouldn’t it anger Mariners fans to see that he’s a (remarkably consistent) slap hitter when he could be driving in runs with a power bat? If the AL features Ichiro, you might as well let the likes of Dontrelle Willis, CC Sabathia and other power-hitting pitchers sign up. That would create some juice.â†µ

â†µâ†µWithout turning this post into a “how to fix the HR Derby” thing, it seems obvious that MLB has too many players involved each year and, therefore, too many rounds. Shorten the thing to two rounds (even with a four-person final round) and give each player six outs – like one full inning of baseball – instead of 10. Also include some prize bonus for whoever hits the longest ball of the round, and the longest ball of the night. â†µ

â†µâ†µThen, do what some of us have been waiting for years to see, and put together a “Five Tool” contest before the Derby. Here are the events:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥• Set up targets on the field worth different values for players to hit (power alley worth three points, down the line worth five points, pop-up or infield ground ball is an out, etc.). Each player gets three outs to accumulate the most points in a game that rewards both accuracy and power – two tools in one event!â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥• Run the bases. Player swings the bat and gets timed around the bases. This could, if players don’t want to run the entire base path, be a contest from first to third after contact.â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥• Two defensive competitions, to be fair to infielders and outfielders. First every player stands in the outfield and throws to a target at home plate. Each player would get six tosses, from short and deep left, right and center, to see who is most accurate.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥The second fielding contest we could call the “Roger Dorn” as players are pelted with rapid-fire ground balls and have to field and throw to first from different spots on the diamond.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µWouldn’t that be more interesting than watching a bunch of non-home run hitters swing for the fences because the good sluggers all backed out?â†µ
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â†µ(H/T Big League Stew)â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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