Vladimir Guerrero claimed his spot upon the top of baseball’s home run hitters after winning the Home Run Derby on Monday. Actually Guerrero is the top home run hitter against batting practice pitchers, among All-Stars, at least those who decided they wanted to participate. When you take a look at the Home Run Derby it is plain to see that the event lacks the interest it could potentially draw. When you look at the NBA’s Slam Dunk or 3-Point contest it is sad to see that baseball has been missing a giant opportunity to help invent new stars and increase ratings. After all, sports is all about those dollar dollar bills, y’all.
Two of baseball’s biggest stars optimize the issue with the Derby. The current home run leader so far this season is Alex Rodriguez, who just decided that he will valiantly play in the All-Star game itself. A-Rod is battling a debilitating injury, but decided to play because he “owed it to the fans”. If A-Rod is actually legitimately hurt enough to require time off, or decided to play just for the fans, than you probably believe that Barry Bonds has never used any substance stronger than Flintstones vitamins. Bonds is the other problem with the Derby. Bonds is a handful of home runs away from breaking the all time record, but dismissed a chance to enter the event without a second thought. What makes this decision worse is that Bonds is the only Giants player involved in the All-Star Game being played in his home park. I will admit that Bonds entering the Home Run Derby was a no win situation (he wins and the steroids debate fuels again, if he loses and than he is just off of the juice) but he should have been in the event. Baseball needs to make sure the stars people pay to see are actually on the field to be seen.
Why should All-Stars have all the fun at the Home Run Derby? You don’t have to be an All-Star to be in the Slam Dunk or 3-Point Contest. In fact several stars have emerged as household names based on their performances in these events (Shawn Kemp, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Gerald Green, Andre Iguodala, etc). The Derby should be open to the best power hitters, not just the best All-Star caliber power hitters. It isn’t uncommon to see players participating in the Derby that are not even leading their own team in home runs. It is no secret that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are the big hitters on the Red Sox, but both men have said they are amazed watching Willy Mo Pena hit more home runs (and for longer distances) during batting practice than either of them. Who cares if Pena’s strikeout average is higher than his batting average, the man can put on a home run show. Baseball needs to use this type of power hitting skill to the event’s advantage.
The Home Run Derby could be a major public relations extravaganza if baseball changed the way they run the event. Instead of a few hours of long drawn out home runs, why not turn this into a fun event for more than just eight players and one night worth of fans? Each team can pick a date during a home stand to have an entire roster Home Run Derby. The event could be separate admission (during the day when a night game is scheduled) for $5-$15 per ticket, with all proceeds going to a charity. The winner for each team advances to a neutral park derby championship (with the same charity and ticket setup) where the top four players advance to the Home Run Derby against four All-Stars, and the champion gets to put all of his winnings towards a charity of his choosing. This way everyone wins, charities across the country, fans, and families that can’t afford the outrageous ticket prices of the mid-summer classic. Even better for baseball (besides the great publicity for their charitable contributions) is that fans get to see players that could be the next great stars before they become household names.
Before baseball panics about the lack of interest in the Home Run Derby, they need to remember that the NBA once had the same issues with the Slam Dunk contest. Every event suffers from peaks and valleys, the true test is to see what changes might need to be done to fix the event, if any are even needed. Baseball needs to talk to the fans to see what they would want to see, since we fans are the people that dish out our paychecks to support the lavish life of the average and All-Star player.
No comments:
Post a Comment