I think we all share the same opinion on the Home Run Derby: It’s fun for a while, but in general the damn thing is just too long. Oh, and the participants. Why not get some actual, you know, home run hitters in there? Adam Dunn, Mark Reynolds, Carlos Pena … get those guys in the competition. No one wants to see Vernon Wells hit three balls just over the fence. But I digress.
We Yankee fans actually have a rooting interest in this year’s event, since Man of the People Nick Swisher is slated to participate. He’s going to swing lefthanded (12 of his 15 homers have come as a lefty) and have Tony Pena pitch to him, but he’s going to have to deal with that big wall in right-center. David Golebiewski at FanGraphs did a real in-depth breakdown of the Derby contestants, so make sure you give that a read if you haven’t already.
Here are the eight contestants, not necessarily in order…
American League
Miguel Cabrera
David Ortiz
Nick Swisher
Vernon Wells
National League
Corey Hart
Matt Holliday
Hanley Ramirez
Chris Young
My money’s on Matt Holliday, but of course I’ll be pulling for Swish. The fun starts at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
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