Loading ...HR Derby Will Go On Without Stars
No matter who participates in the Home Run Derby, it’s entertaining. Baseballs being blasted hundreds of feet into the bleachers and the upper decks always grab my attention. But I confess, I wish the superstar longball launchers were participating.
Don’t get me wrong, the guys that will step into the box are fabulous. Josh Hamilton is a great story, Evan Longoria is the poster child for the Rays uprising, Chase Utley is the best second baseman in baseball.
But those guys aren’t A-Rod, Ryan Howard, Big Papi or Vladimir Guerrero. And when I watch a special competition like the derby, I want the best of the best, the superstars of the sport.
Would the Wimbledon Final have been nearly as dramatic if it wasn’t #1 Federer and #2 Nadal? NOT A CHANCE!
Was there ever a better Slam Dunk Contest than when the two greatest dunkers, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins, went at it? NO WAY!
Wouldn’t it have been a better Super Bowl last year if the game played out the same but it was Brady vs Favre? NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!
Would the Red Sox comeback from 0-3 down in the 2004 ALCS have been as amazing if it hadn’t come against their tormentors from the Bronx? NO, NOT, NEGATORY!
It will be good, but it could be better, if only the biggest stars would come out.
THERE IT IS!
What about requiring the home run leaders from last year to battle it out? Or possibly the home run leaders at the break?
I know some people say it messes with their swings, but I don’t think I fully believe that a professional athlete can take some big hacks one day and have it screw him up for months down the road!