As the Home Run Derby — or the Josh Hamilton Show — got underway last night at Yankee Stadium, the sun set behind New Jersey, lighting up the sky. Click through the jump to see more sights from last night’s Derby. I took all the photos, and you can find them and more in this photo set on flickr.
The MLB All Star event tickets are pretty fancy, and the sponsor of the event — State Farm last night, Taco Bell on Sunday afternoon — hands out branded ticket holders. It’s a great to way to save these tickets — which all contain real dirt from Yankee Stadium. After the Derby, people outside the stadium were collecting used ticket stubs. I’m guessing their goals were not entirely altruistic. (Larger view available here.)
MasterCard bought the rights for the out-of-town scoreboard today. While Josh Hamilton launched some shots into the night, no one won the $1,000,000. Long gone are the days of Abe Stark.
During the pre-Derby ceremonies, the MLB mascots gathered on the field for a little fun. The Phillie Phanatic is just flat-out fantastic, and Wally the Green Monster got a good round of booing.
From the right field Tier Reserve seats, it’s hard to miss the new stadium, looming behind the House that Ruth Built.
A-Rod and Derby participant Chase Utley are honored for receiving the most votes in the AL and NL respectively. Interestingly, a few of the stadium announcers took some shots at A-Rod tonight. While interviewing Reggie Jackson, Michael Kay was fairly critical of players’ claiming that the Derby would mess with their swings. In the end, it was still just an exhibition event.
Josh Hamilton probably launched the ball about 480+ feet on this swing. It must be distracting to bat with a cameraman five feet away. As Hamilton’s home run total went from 26 to 27 to 28 in the first round, the crowd went nuts, and the players showed their love once Hamilton’s show was over.
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