The 2011 Home Run Derby is coming up on Monday night, and now we know how the rosters shake out. Participants were selected by American League and National League captains David Ortiz and Prince Fielder, and here are the other six names:
The 2011 Home Run Derby, Optimized
We now know which players are going to participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby. Here are the players who should be participating, for purposes of maximizing the entertainment.
It’s a fine group. Good power hitters, all of them. But it isn’t a group that makes me excited to tune in. Not that I think I’ve ever been excited to tune in to a home run derby, but I could certainly be more excited, and I’m pretty sure the same goes for everybody else.
The derby will never make for compelling television, just because it’s so repetitive, and there are so many breaks, and the announcing is terrible. But it would be more interesting with more interesting players, so below please find my optimized selection of eight participants. I’m keeping the rules intact, which means Ortiz and Fielder remain. And I’m operating under the assumption that the derby is all about the fans, and that the fans want to see a show. A show featuring not just the promise of home runs, but the promise of really long, really impressive home runs.
I doubt that all of these players would accept invitations, but we’re working in the realm of the hypothetical, so on we go.
American League
David Ortiz
Ortiz is here because he has to be, but it’s not like the guy is a slouch. Remember back in 2009, when Ortiz had one home run on June 5th and everybody thought he was finished? Since then, he’s hit 76 home runs in 328 games. Of course, Barry Bonds once hit 73 home runs in 153 games, so relative to that, yeah, Ortiz blows.
Jose Bautista
Bautista was the leading vote-getter in All-Star Game balloting, so it stands to reason that a lot of fans want to watch him, and a lot of fans want to watch him on account of his power. Because Bautista was picked by Ortiz, said fans will get to. Bautista is included here because he is obvious.
Mark Reynolds
Reynolds is not popular, and he doesn't have the Red Sox or Yankees fan base behind him. What he is is a guy who swings really hard and hits the ball really far sometimes, which you'll notice as a theme throughout the rest of this piece. Reynolds hit baseball's second-longest home run a year ago, and he has a track record of blasting the kinds of moonshots that everybody prefers over wall-scrapers when it comes to the derby. The derby could conceivably put a guy like Reynolds on the map, given a good performance.
Ichiro Suzuki
Just do it already. Ichiro's an unconventional pick, since he doesn't hit many home runs during the year, but we're all familiar with the stories surrounding his batting practice exploits, so it's time to put this to the test before his skills have completely eroded. I guarantee that if Ichiro were to participate in the derby, it would get the highest ratings of all time. People want to know. I want to know. I hate the Home Run Derby, and I want to know.
National League
Prince Fielder
The automatic pick is also the guy who, as of this writing, owns 2011’s longest home run, at 486 feet. It’s a good thing the automatic pick is Prince Fielder instead of Jamey Carroll. Then we’d really be in a mess!
Wily Mo Pena
Wily Mo was born to participate in home run derbies. Home run derbies are all about pure strength, with none of those bewildering curvy pitches that give Pena such a headache. Wily Mo owns a lifetime .754 OPS in the Majors and he's only appeared in 14 games this season, but if he were to take part, would you bet against him? Every swing of his would have the potential to launch the ball 500 feet. He's the perfect participant.
Justin Upton
Another Arizona guy with a little more polish than Pena, Upton has hit baseball's second-longest home run in 2011, and four longer than 450 feet. A year ago, he hit three longer than 450 feet. I don't think Upton would pull in extra viewers with his name, but for those already tuning in, he could be a treat, just given that it's only a matter of time before he literally causes a baseball to come apart at the seams. Viewers aren't interested by balls hit to the second row. They're interested by balls hit to the second deck.
Mike Stanton
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