2018 Home Run Derby

[Zepol87 9192]

That was badass. 

[shnsajax 3592]

Nice to see Schwarber’s future teammate win the HR Derby.

[Surly Bevo 25167]

But bring the old format back

[BlueGreySky 1032]

That was all sorts of badassery.

 

[Rustic Horn 929]

That was awesome.

 

 

[CurlyDumps 4485]

Harper’s dad needs to go easy on the Just For Men beard dye.

[Rustic Horn 929]

Pretty cool....

 

 

[Trey3216 15372]

2 minutes ago, CurlyDumps said:

Harper’s dad needs to go easy on the Just For Men beard dye.

But his beard was weird

[immortal13 4059]

1 hour ago, henrygandorf said:

when i was little (the 80's) they used to rerun old home run derby tv shows that were from the 50's and 60's.  mantle and mays and many others were in them.  does anyone else remember what i'm talking about?  they were black and white and were just two people, head to head, for a half hour show.  i have no idea what channel it was but probably espn2 or something.

Pretty sure that was WGN. I watched it quite a few times because it was cool getting to see footage of guys like Ernie Banks, Mays and Mantle who I had never really seen before.

[Beau Vine 54459]

Every year I think this is gonna suck because Player X is not participating.

Every year, it's fun as hell.

[Goo Punch 4275]

That was the best derby in a while, and the derby rarely disappoints. That was great.

[henrygandorf 29195]

ok everyone, settle down.  full details:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Run_Derby_(TV_series)

 

[Goo Punch 4275]

1 hour ago, PappyVanVinceYoung said:

It seems so unfair though. Hasn’t been the case this year, but last year Bour got eliminated in the first round hitting 22 while Sano moved on hitting 11. That just seems absurd. 

Also, the time limit penalizes players that hit high homeruns since it takes longer for them to land. What kind of sense does that make?

 

yeah because 10 swings and you're done is totally fair. schwarber would have been the first one out tonight if that were the case.

[Beau Vine 54459]

1.  Wife asked if anyone had ever broken their bat in the HRD and I couldn't remember that happening?  Anybody?

2.  This:

 

[Guadaloopy 11018]

I’m ready to start a movement to replace extra innings with a round of HR derby.   Use the same timed format as the current derby except you can sub in a batter any time you want and no timeouts.  Pitcher can be anyone currently available as a sub on the roster.  Who’s with me?

[Goo Punch 4275]

17 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

I’m ready to start a movement to replace extra innings with a round of HR derby.   Use the same timed format as the current derby except you can sub in a batter any time you want and no timeouts.  Pitcher can be anyone currently available as a sub on the roster.  Who’s with me?

 

[Guadaloopy 11018]

1 hour ago, Goo Punch said:

 

That actually turned out to be a good idea in the movie.  

[clapclapclap 9000]

There are Home Run Derby truthers accusing Bryce Harper's dad of cheating

Quote

Nationals superstar Bryce Harper on Monday night won the 2018 Home Run Derby in his home ballpark and in front of tens of thousands of adoring Nats fans. Making it all the more dramatic is that Harper prevailed over Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber in a hotly contested final round. And that's where the plot thickens. 

Per Derby rules, the pitcher is supposed to wait until each batted ball lands before delivering the next pitch. In Harper's case, he was off Schwarber's final-round pace of 18 home runs by five with less than one minute on the clock. Harper began closing the gap, and as the clock wound down, Harper's pitcher -- his dad, Ron, it should be noted -- appeared to break that "wait until the ball lands" rule on multiple occasions. Have a look:

It's not over until @Bharper3407 says it's over. pic.twitter.com/UATq8M2ldV

— MLB (@MLB) July 17, 2018

So r we just ignoring the fact the Bryce Harper & his dad cheated & did not follow the rules of the #HomeRunDerby ? The previous hit ball must hit the ground before the next ball can be thrown to the batter. Harper needs 4 Home Runs taken away, video evidence. #Justice4Schwarberpic.twitter.com/u0B5FPAlfV

— Franchise 🤘KLiQ🤘 (@FranchiseKicks) July 17, 2018

(Yes, there's a seemingly earnest #Justice4Schwarber hashtag making the rounds, and -- in another modern inevitability -- there's a Change.org petition to recognize Schwarber as the rightful Derby champ.) This kind of thing, it should be noted, was not a particularly isolated reaction: 

My absolute favorite thing in the world right now is Cubs fan home run derby truthers who believe the Harpers were cheating pic.twitter.com/F7QEvPt5pj

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) July 17, 2018

What's interesting is that there's an ump positioned far behind home plate who signals to the pitcher when it's OK to throw again. By way of example, here's that ump letting Rhys Hoskins' pitcher know that he's free to serve up another one (as said other one has already been served up):

Did you know there is an umpire for the Derby? MLB.tv screengrab

So was Harper's dad ignoring the hold sign from the ump or was the ump "going rogue" and giving him the green light before those baseballs had landed? That, people, is the ultimately unimportant question. 

 

Also, let it be known that other 2018 Derby participants where not spared from such accusations: 

@teixeiramark25 are we just gonna pretend like Hoskins didn’t cheat? He wasn’t waiting for the ball to land

— Jake Robinson (@JDR316) July 17, 2018

And, yes, Schwarber himself as at least one righteous accuser out there: 

Well I got Hoskins, Muncy, and Harper right, and would have gotten Bregman if Schwarber didn't cheat.#HomeRunDerby

— Randy (@randyscholz) July 17, 2018

At this point, two key takeaways: 

1. Ditch the stupid rule, and let participants pitch and swing with all the haste and impunity they can muster.
2. It's the Home Run Derby. It's an exercise in fun. If you're Mad Online about any bending of the rules, then your interior life is your own punishment. 

Bryce Harper won the 2018 Home Run Derby. 

Counterpoint:

Spoiler

Quote

Shaana, they bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into.  I say, ban Bryce from the HOF.

 

 

Edited July 17, 2018 by clapclapclap

[miguelito 11312]

Give bonus points if they can get 3 HR's in the air at the same time.