Home Run Derby (the other one)

If you’re like me, you spent a lot of time in college up at 3:00 a.m., sitting on a couch that smelled like melted cats, and watching classic Home Run Derbys on ESPN or ESPN Classic. They were alternately amazing and frustrating (because of them danged old-timey camera angles.)

You can find them at the iTunes store now, which is kinda neat. But there are a few of them on YouTube, too. They’re worth revisiting, because they’re still as amazing and frustrating as ever. Also, when I used to stay up until 3:00 a.m. just to see one, I’d always get Dick Stuart and Gus Triandos. Maybe Dick Stuart and Wally Post.

Here’s Mickey Mantle vs. Harmon Killebrew:

You know why players did this? For the money. They wanted the extra money in the offseason. I wonder how much it would take to revive the series? Thinking ... a lot. A lot of money.