I watch every year, but every year I get bored to tears. The MLB Home Run Derby has the potential to be a fun exciting mid-season event, but the way it's set up now it has to be the most boring three hours of television ever broadcast. Yes, more boring then an actual game. Yes, much more boring then a round of golf. They took a step in the right direction this year by announcing team captains, letting them pick the participants and giving it an American vs National League feel. But they didn't change the format or the rules, so it felt no different or was any more exciting then any other year. I'm sure the league would argue that the derby gets good ratings, people obviously watch, so why change anything? But I argue, what else is there for baseball fans, or sport fans for that matter, to watch? Of course people are going to put it on when there is no other sport programing to be found. I know that's why I put it on as background music while I write stupid blog posts that nobody ever reads. No, if anyone with a pulse in the MLB front office is watching, so that obviously excludes commissioner Bud Selig, they know this event needs a format change so people stop falling asleep in the stands. Here are my suggestions on how to fix the Home Run Derby...
1) First thing we have to do is cut down the amount of participants. Four from each league is to many. The first round by itself takes over an hour to complete. By that point it feels like the whole thing should be over. You've already forgotten who the first couple hitters were. Even though four is a more symmetrical number in the normal world, three is the most symmetrical number in baseball. We are going to take three from each league for a bigger reason we will get into later.
2) As much as I like the idea of captains picking teams, I would take the top three home run hitters from each league at the break. This seems too obvious for me to even explain why. If there is some reason one of those six can't go or doesn't want to (which is bullshit, if you aren't on the DL you should be there!) we move down the list. This puts that years best home run hitters in the competition and it works as a document of the season as well as a fun event and isn't just a bunch of random baseball players fooling around.
3) We need to go back to the roots of the home run derby. The best home run derbies I've seen are the ones from the 50's television show. When I was a kid ESPN used to re-run them and I was enthralled. What made these shows so great, other then the fact I got to watch Mays, Aaron, Mantle, Killebrew, etc, etc, etc, was the format was the same as a normal baseball game. Each player got three outs an inning to hit as many home runs as they could for nine innings. The MLB Home Run Derby needs to be a nine inning game. Each player gets three innings (three players per team, three innings each equals a nine inning game). Which ever league has the most home runs after nine innings wins.
4) Also going back to the old television show, we need to get an umpire behind the plate calling strikes. The worst thing about the Home Run Derby right now is when a player sits there for three minutes watching pitch after pitch until they get the perfect pitch. That's when I go get some food, write a few paragraphs or fall asleep. If you watch a strike, it's an out. This rule alone would make things 100% more exciting.
5) If you're worried about filling time (which, I think, with this type of thing, the shorter the sweeter) and determining an individual winner, take the two players who hit the most home runs during their three innings and have them play a head to head nine inning game after the first.
Five easy steps and you get an event that is much better TV and much more exciting and interesting for the fans. Let's go MLB and get on this for next year!
One last thing on a somewhat different topic... we need to put an end to all these players ducking out of the All-Star game, especially if you're voted in. If you aren't on the DL you need to be at the game. Really Derek Jeter, you need to rest your injury? Didn't seem like you were hurting when you went 5 for 5 the other night. I think the league has to change the All-Star roster rules to insure that every one selected to the team goes to the game and we actually get 34 all-stars instead of 45. The rule they should add is simple... you get 34 players named to your team (Ok we can up it to 35 or 36)... that's it just 36. If anyone decides not to go you don't get to replace them on the roster. Yes, that means if everyone on the Yankees decides they don't feel like going the AL will be at a disadvantage. Maybe then players will stop ducking out!
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