Yoenis Cespedes wins Home Run Derby: Why this night of unexpected performances saved baseballs marque event

Cano didn't advance past the first round, Fielder didn't advance, David Ortiz didn't hit.

Bryce Harper shocked the MLB to advance to the finals while Johannes Cespedus leaped ahead and never fell back as he won the Derby off of a monstrous home run total through the first 2 rounds.

Going into last night, not much was expected of this Derby and when Feilder and Cano fell from grace in the first round that stock sank even further. Yet in the span of almost 3 hours last night, sponsored trucks were pelted with baseballs, records were threatened and a 2013 Home Run Derby Champion was crowned.

Beginning in the first round, he came to the plate immediately following a disappointing 5 home run performance by Prince Fielder and immediately followed him up with 17 in his first round at bat, and while numbers like that would actually be enough to carry him all the way to the final, for the other 4 or 5 batter right in the thick of things as they contended for the second round, their ride was anything but easy.

 "During the first round when I took my first five swings, I felt I was really in a rhythm and felt that I could put on a show like I did tonight," Cespedes said through a translator.

You see last night was really a showcase of the MLB's best underestimated talent as between Cespedes, Harper and a man named Michael Cuddyer the league's group of budding stars combined for a total of 71 of the 103 long balls loosed last night. 

Nevertheless as the second round came to a close, it was a different number that took center stage. While slated to bat last and while your first round score is added onto your second round score, the Derby came to Cespedes in that second round with him really not obligated to hit. Yet as he pondered whether or not to hit, it was made evident that in the team home run category his American League was losing 38 to 42 meaning that if he could put together at least 4 home runs, things would be all tied up for the final thus setting up a winner take all situation.  

Knowing this, Cespedes put up those 4 home runs before slowing down yet even in his laid back later second round swing he still managed to put up an additional 2 for good measure before stepping away. 

"He's a stud, an absolute stud," Bryce Harper's dad and pitcher throughout the night said about Cespedes "He's got a great swing. I love his swing. He's great for the game." 

Fact is last night WAS great for the game, I mean when a guy hits the most home runs in a Derby round, second only to Josh Hamilton and Bobby Abreu that ought to be fun and when you have two very promising second year players facing off to win the Home Run Derby, that WILL be fun. 

Batting first, Harper put up a respectable 8 homers while batting first yet had to cringe as Cespedes came storming into form scouring 8 blasts on just 3 outs. 

In the end, Cuban born Oakland outfielder Yoanis Cespedes would go "back back back back and GONE" 32 times to win the Home Run Derby yet in the end it was a joint effort between him and guys like Harper and Cuddyer that really created a story. 

You see going into last night, many feared that due to a great size of the outfield at City Field in Bronx, the result would be fewer home runs, the answer: 103 long balls, the longest since the 2008 Derby at Yankee Stadium. 

Another fear? Yup, in addition to that, once guys like David Wright, Robinson Cano and Prince Fielder fell, fans immediately feared that the competition would take a turn for the worse going slightly stale with short home runs and minimal scores: WRONG! 

And last but not least, in a Derby premeditated with the talk of stars like David Ortiz not participating and other who were participating holding back, Yoenis Cespedes made you forget about those fears just 2 batters into the Derby. 

Through 3 hours of competition, Cespedes and Harper pelted the hoods and windows of a truck in the outfield  Never hit a ground ball and delighted fans of the New York Mets (who really at this point don’t have much regular season fun to cheer about) something to cheer about. 

"This probably is the first time it really hit me. It's like, 'Wow, this is what it's all about.' It's really cool, the camaraderie with these guys, even though they're in different leagues, different teams, they're still rooting each other on no matter what.'' Harper's dad said following the Derby and I truth, what he realized last night is truly the way this Home Run Derby was meant to be held.

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Down with the Derby: The case against the MLB Home Run Derby

In the regular season, there is no play in baseball that continuously rouses fans from their seats like the home run. Fact is for as long as this game has existed, it has been that way and fact is for as long as this game has existed, the guys who swing the hardest and hit the farthest have always been the ones who go down in history as the greats of the game.

Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, Mark Maguire and Sammy Sosa, Yastemski, Barry Bonds, David Ortiz, Prince Feilder: so many names so many different traits yet for those 8 men one underling commonality remains ever so prominent     the ability to hit home runs.

So naturally, in a game punctuated by the crack of a bat and the roar of a crowd as a ball goes yard the great minds of the game devised a competition focused entirely on the long ball.

In 1985, those minds created the Home Run Derby and to this day it remains one of Baseball’s most watched events. 

As said before, the Home Run Derby began in 1985 after the MLB would struggle to keep fan’s attention during the long all-star break with just one event (the all-star game) scheduled. Nevertheless in its first years of competition, the league struggled to build a following of the event as due to the fact that no major television networks were willing to air the competition, fans would be hard pressed to really get into watching the derby.

But TV troubles were not the only thing holding the event back. Through the first  6 years of its existence, the Home Run Derby was structured in a very odd fashion consisting of a two inning affair and coordinated in such a way that would allow for ties for the win, thus taking a lot of the suspense out of the event.

Yet things like rules and logistics surrounding the event were far easier to fix than the live coverage problem that was not under the leagues control. Nevertheless at that time what the MLB did not seem to notice was that the basic layout of the Derby and the lack of coverage were closely intertwined

But regardless of how long it took, that all changed in 1991 when the Derby was switched to a format much closer to the one used today.

Prior to that 91’ derby it was agreed upon that while ties for 2nd or 3rd still would be allowed to stand, two players could not win the overall title in the same competition meaning that when tied after the final, the involved players would compete in a 5 pitch “swing off” to decide the winner.

Fact is, over the next few years, the MLB and its fans would realize that, in truth that was all it would take to bring the Home Run Derby to the next level of greatness as in the days before the 1993 edition of the event, ESPN announced that they would sponsor and broadcast a delayed version of the Derby, finally bringing more and more fans to the event.

Yet for the MLB while they might have been happy with finally getting some extra revenue from the Derby, having a network broadcast what is supposed to be your marque event 4 hours after the fact is not cool. They wanted live TV and in 1998 well: the got just that.

From 98’ on the popularity of the Home Run derby exploded as within just 10 short years, the Derby went from being the laughing stock of professional sporting events to holding the title of, at least in 2008, “the most watched show on basic cable”. 

Nevertheless, as the Derby’s popularity grew, so did the pressure to preform and take part in the event thus initiating a weak controversy that has hung over the MLB for over a decade now.

Fact is, since ESPN’s first live broadcast of the Home Run Derby, it has done what many initially hoped it would do, aka, bring in the best hitters in the game together and have them smack together ALOT of home runs.

So therefore why all this controversy? One word: fatigue. 

Obviously, no part of the all-star festivities are more important than even 1 regular season game. But nevertheless, the lure and awe of the thought of winning the derby along with the imminent bragging rights and possible endorsement deals such a  victory could bring remain key factors in bringing players into the competition. 

These athletes love competing in the Derby yet over the past few years the fatigue brought on by participating has obviously taken its toll on them.

In 2005, Bobby Abreu hit 18 homers in the first half of the season and then demolished the field in the Home Run Derby with 41 long balls, all before mustering a meager 6 home runs following the all-star game.

Pretty big drop-off there.

One year later, Mets 3rd basemen: David Wright suffered an even greater loss via the Home Run Derby as even while hitting 20 homers pre all-star break, he dropped off in the second half and managed to put together just 6.

The stats are there for Abreu and Wright and while they are not the only casualties of the Derby, some did not even go so far as to participate fearing similar drop-offs: most notably, Ken Griffey, Jr. back in 1998 who initially declined to participate in the Home Run Derby but was finally convinced by ESPN to join.

Throughout the world of pro sports there is nothing like the MLB Home Run Derby. With its annual output of normally upwards  80 homers, fans love the thrill of watching balls go yard and players love to brag about the whopping 30 they hit in the competition. There is nothing like the home run derby but if it is to stay on the course of greatness it has set for itself major changes will need to be made, major changes.

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In Praise of the MLB All Star Game: Why baseball's superstar showcase is better than any other

In Football there's the hated pro bowl, in basketball there well the NBA All Star game (aka the Lebron James show) and in hockey there is the All Star game where hitting is all but abolished. 

Throughout sports, fans and players have seemed to lose touch with the meaning of an All Star game: group together the best players in the respective leagues and play one heck of a game. Yet while that may be the intention, a culture of 50% effort has been imposed on these games with just one outcast: Baseball. 

Yet see, the main reason for the lack of effort in these games has almost always been due to fear injury, and or bad positioning in the season on the part of the superior league, side effect most prominent in football. In these games, players are so afraid of getting hurt that in that annual spell of controversy that is the NFL's Pro Bowl, then rookie defensive stud, JJ Watt once relived a moment in his first pro bowl that really did open the eyes of football fans to how unthinkably pathetic the game actually was. 

"I was on the line [of scrimmage] and I had the center right in front of me." Watt said "He snapped the ball and I jumped up to try to push through his block. The second he saw me actually pressing to get to Aaron [Rodgers] he yelled something and stepped aside letting me sac Aaron [Rodgers] as we both got up from the ground, both teams came up to me and said, 'we don't do that in the Pro Bowl'"  

We don't do that in the Pro Bowl. Now you see why fans hate footballs filler game for the week between the Conference Championship and the Super Bowl. Yet while the lack of effort will often stem from fear of injury, another key factor separating the Pro Bowl and the NBA and NHL All Star Games, and Baseball's "Midsummer Classic" a meeting that draws the same effort as a regular season game is incentive.  In Football there is none, in Basketball there is none, and in hockey there is no extra benefit to winning an All Star Game. Yet in baseball, there is quite a bit of it.  

You see the winner of the MLB All Star Game doesn't just get bragging rights and, unlike the culture formed around the NFL NHL and NBA simply making Baseball's All Star Team is not good enough, in baseball you have to win. 

Why? Because of this: every year, regardless of any standings, the league (AL or NL) that wins the All Star Game will earn the right to exercise home field advantage in the World Series, a benefit that I cannot stress how helpful it is. Fact is in the past 5 years, only one team whose league lost the All Star Game has won the title come October and as crazy as it it, that one team came 5 year ago in 2008 meaning that for 4 straight years, the league that has won the All Star Game has harbored a team that went on to win it all. 

Years when World Seirs winner's league  also won All Star Game are bolded

Winner of the All Star game	Winner of the World Series
NL	San Francisco Giants (NL)
NL	St Louis Cardinals (NL)
NL	San Francisco Giants (NL)
AL	New York Yankees (AL)
AL	Philadelphia Phillies (NL)

As much as baseball struggles with the speed of its game, and as much as it weeps as football rapidly grows into the new American pastime, for one day each July, it grabs that crown back from the sport of human refrigerators and mega stadiums and plays an All Star Game the way it is meant to be played.

*Note, 3 Red Sox made the All Star team this year, 2 of them are in the starting lineup: David Ortiz and Clay Buchholz, one more will be on reserve: Dustin Pedroia

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A lesson in fame: What makes David Ortiz, the most liked DH in the history of baseball

In 1973, the MLB shook the world when they adopted a rule that continues to be one of the most argued over in the MLB's book of regulations: The Designated Hitter Rule. 

40 years later, David Ortiz is approximately 2 million votes secure of winning himself a 3rd straight spot as DH in the MLB All-Star game. 

Born 3 years after the rule was instated, "Big Papi" as Sox fans fondly call him, is one of 50 MLB players to ever hit 400 home runs. In his 17 years of pro baseball, Ortiz has become the most proficient home run hitting DH in baseball history and when you think about it, that is the main reason for Ortiz's unthinkably loyal fan base. 

You see, Baseball fans like home runs and that opinion is only reinforced by the fact that in last years All Star game alone, all but one of the AL starters hit more than 10 home runs in that same 2012 MLB season. And that's only getting started.  In 1973, the DH was introduced to do just what David Ortiz has done: not strike out and pelt the ball as far as he possibly could. At that time, pitchers would bat just like the rest of team and while the effect of them being removed from the batting order is still up in the air, one facet of the era of the DH is well profiled by countess arguments for and against the controversial position: even in leagues were they bat, pitchers don't focus on hitting meaning that 9 times out of 10, the pitcher comes up, and bing bang boom he is out. 

Ortiz is the living epitome of great hitting, 1,939 hits, 417 home runs, and 499 career doubles, the stats don't lie. 8 All Star games played in, and 2 time World Series Champion, the achievements don't lie, David Ortiz is the GREATEST Designated Hitter of all time, the greatest Red Sox hitter of the decade and a historic long ball specialist only comparable to mighty Babe Ruth himself. 

Below is the list of all current AL nominees for the All Star game, and the number of votes they have been given. Red Sox players names are bolded

AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR VOTING 
(as of July 1) 

CATCHER 
Joe Mauer, Twins: 3,869,330 
Matt Wieters, Orioles: 2,677,959 
A.J. Pierzynski, Rangers: 1,441,827 
Carlos Santana, Indians: 1,285,650 
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox: 1,256,505 

FIRST BASE 
Chris Davis, Orioles: 5,468,703 
Prince Fielder, Tigers: 3,280,681 
Albert Pujols, Angels: 1,140,420 
Mike Napoli, Red Sox: 1,123,281 
Mitch Moreland, Rangers: 1,007,675 

SECOND BASE 
Robinson Cano, Yankees: 3,974,322 
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 2,838,129 
Ian Kinsler, Rangers: 1,767,806 
Omar Infante, Tigers: 1,554,514 
Jose Altuve, Astros: 1,227,462 

THIRD BASE 
Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 5,844,165 
Manny Machado, Orioles: 2,752,627 
Adrian Beltre, Rangers: 1,792,809 
Evan Longoria, Rays: 1,528,877 
Josh Donaldson, Athletics: 827,381 

SHORTSTOP 
J.J. Hardy, Orioles: 3,509,180 
Jhonny Peralta, Tigers: 2,505,348 
Elvis Andrus, Rangers: 2,122,770 
Jed Lowrie, Athletics: 1,491,376 
Jose Reyes, Blue Jays: 1,091,707 

DESIGNATED HITTER 

David Ortiz, Red Sox: 4,398,197 
Lance Berkman, Rangers: 2,004,388 
Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays: 1,688,099 
Victor Martinez, Tigers: 1,257,577 
Mark Trumbo, Angels: 1,190,709 

OUTFIELD 
Mike Trout, Angels: 4,822,983 
Adam Jones, Orioles: 4,766,256 
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 2,679,230 
Nick Markakis, Orioles: 2,536,864 
Torii Hunter, Tigers: 2,390,336 
Nelson Cruz, Rangers: 2,258,797 
Nate McLouth, Orioles: 2,169,772 
Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox: 1,751,022 
Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics: 1,556,700 
Coco Crisp, Athletics: 1,421,277 
Alex Gordon, Royals: 1,416,887 
Austin Jackson, Tigers: 1,306,330 
Josh Hamilton, Angels: 1,138,518 
Shane Victorino, Red Sox: 1,059,429 
Ichiro Suzuki, Yankees: 1,003,198

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