New formula delivers best Home Run Derby in years
By Tim Haberin
Change occurs slowly in the world of baseball, and when it does finally happen fans usually debate whether it was implemented well, or even a good idea in the first place. Major League Baseball attempted to revitalize the Home Run Derby this season, and after last night’s show most baseball aficionados should be able to agree that the updated system improved the competition immensely.
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The Derby had grown stale and sluggish under the old set of rules, and the public was beginning to lose interest. MLB’s revamp breathed life into the contest by shifting the focus back to what the Derby is all about: hitting home runs.
With the use of time limits, players were swinging at almost every pitch, trying to hit as many homers as possible per round. The change of pace was refreshing after years of watching hitters take pitch after pitch in an effort to avoid making one of their ten allotted outs. Now there was no need to worry about just swinging away.
The quickened pace seemed to make a sizable difference in the final product. A total of 159 home runs were hit in this year’s Derby, over twice as many as last year (78). Of course, the hitter-friendly dimensions of Great American Ball Park could also have had something to do with that. In any case, it made for a highly entertaining show.
That’s not to say the new Derby went off completely without a hitch, however. It took a little time for the players to adjust to the new way of doing things. As ESPN’s commentary crew noted, the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo was first to take his turn and was something of the evening’s “guinea pig.” He appeared to be rushing himself at first, getting out in front of pitches and hooking them foul. He settled down, though, hitting eight homers in the round. The rest of the competition followed suit, swiftly getting the hang of the new routine.
The threat of inclement weather forced MLB to alter the updated rules even further. Rounds were trimmed to four minutes instead of a planned five, and an extra 30 seconds of bonus time would be activated by hitting at least two homers of 425 feet or more, rather than the intended 60 additional seconds for 475 feet. These on-the-fly changes didn’t seem to make much of a difference in the end result, but with every hitter easily earning bonus time it felt like the extra seconds should have perhaps been built into each round.
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The real strength of this year’s Home Run Derby, however, was in its participants. Virtually every one was a legitimate power hitter, a step up from past years which often included a player or two that made you scratch your head a bit. Everybody put on a solid showing in the new head-to-head bracket format, with no one belting fewer than eight homers in a round. That’s a significant improvement from previous competitions in which hitters would sometimes bow out with only a couple long balls, or even go homerless.
This year’s field skewed younger than usual, with rookie sluggers Joc Pederson and Kris Bryant in the spotlight. If viewers outside of the Los Angeles area were not yet familiar with the 23-year-old Pederson’s staggering power, they certainly were after last night’s performance. Pederson effortlessly stroked homer after homer to all fields at Great American on his way to a place in the finals.
At age 35, Albert Pujols was the elder statesman of the group, but if fans had somehow forgotten what he can do with a bat, he reminded them in short order. The three-time MVP resoundingly announced his return to the Midsummer Classic after a five-year absence, clubbing a total of 21 home runs for a semifinal berth.
Of course, the night belonged to hometown hero Todd Frazier. The Cincinnati Reds All-Star hammered his way to the 2015 Home Run Derby title in front of a home crowd, confidently making use of his ballpark’s left field seats. He defied two seemingly insurmountable tasks on the way to claiming the crown, surpassing two-time winner Prince Fielder‘s 13 homers in the first round and besting Pederson in the finals by notching 15.
If last night was any indication, the Home Run Derby could once again become appointment viewing for baseball fans, rather than a pre-All-Star Game novelty that usually limped past the three-hour mark with little intrigue. MLB might continue experimenting with the format, but this initial test run was a promising success. It offered pretty much everything you would want from this competition: exciting players, compelling narrative and (of course) lots and lots of home runs.