MLB All Star Game: Pitchers in the Home Run Derby?
By Ryan Schultz
With more pitchers being interested in participating in the Home Run Derby, the MLB may make a change in the contest.
It wasn’t long ago that San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner first expressed interest in being part of the MLB Home Run Derby. Whether that interest was initiated by him or by someone asking him the question, it was clear that he wanted to participate in the Home Run Derby. His interest in the derby led to other pitchers around the National League expressing their common interest. The most notable of pitchers to express their interest was Jake Arrieta of the Cubs, Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals.
With four pitchers incredibly willing to participate in a Home Run Derby, a simple solution seemed to be creating a derby just for pitchers. The four would compete for one single crown and only compete against the other pitchers, which meant that no pitcher would take a spot away from a hitter in the actual Home Run Derby. Not only did the logistics of creating this extra event in such a short time incredibly difficult, but it seems as though Bumgarner was unwilling to participate in a pitcher derby. He only wanted to participate if it was part of the real Home Run Derby where he would compete against everyday hitters.
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Another possible reason for pitcher participation was shut down for the home run derby was the Players Union. The Union was afraid that these pitchers, all among the top in the National League, would be risking injury by participating. Their worried is somewhat justified because not every National League pitcher takes batting practice each day, let alone taking swings competitively at high effort. Arrieta shut down those worries at the All-Star Game when he was asked about the derby by saying, “we take BP every day. We swing a lot. As far as the injury factor, I mean, we take 50 swings a day.”
If, in fact, Bumgarner was only willing to compete in the current Home Run Derby that consists of everyday hitters, hitters were rightfully upset and concerned about a pitcher taking the place of a hitter in the derby. Although hitters from outside of the All-Star roster had to be added to the derby lineup, it was still clear among players that the spots should all go to hitters that have hit many home runs during that season. For that reason and many others, it makes more sense to have a pitcher only Home Run Derby.
In the end there were too many factors to consider in a short amount of time to make a 2016 Pitcher Derby or something similar happen. However, with a whole year before the 2017 All-Star Game there is plenty of time to prepare for next season. Hypothetically all of the same pitchers, if not more pitchers, will be interested in participating.
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While nothing is certain for 2017, it appears as though there is a much higher chance of some sort of pitcher participation happening. Whether that means choosing a single pitcher to compete in the regular Home Run Derby or creating a whole new event solely for pitchers remains to be determined.