It’s time for the 2021 Home Run Derby! I know that a lot of people don’t think the derby is terribly exciting, but I have always been a fan.
Of course it’s always more fun when one of your own players is in the derby, and this year the Orioles have one! Trey Mancini, fresh off a pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the ninth yesterday, will be out there trying to make all of Birdland proud.
on ESPN, coming to you from Coors Field where they have purposely not put the derby baseballs into the humidor that usually helps keep the baseballs flying more normally in the thin Colorado air.
This dude would be one of the most exciting players on the planet even if he wasn’t pitching every five days with an ERA+ of 132.
Soto only has 11 dingers on the year, but he’s still putting up a heck of a season and he’s just two years removed from hitting 34 in a season.
I know this isn’t the walking derby but I still feel compelled to mention that he has 72 walks this year.
Trevor Story hits a lot of dingers AND he plays for the hometown Colorado Rockies, so he’ll be getting a lot of cheers from the crowd tonight.
Third pitch, OPPOSITE FIELD DINGER TO THE FLAG COURT AND THE CROWD GOES WILD! The rest of the Orioles blew it because they stink, but Trey gave us all a great moment.
And if that isn’t a guy you can root for to win the HR Derby, well then you are a monster.
In the first two rounds of play, each player will have three minutes to hit as many dingers as possible.
At the end of regulation, each player is given a 30-second “bonus” time in which to hit as many dingers as they can without taking a time out.
If two players are tied at the end of their round, there will be a 60-second swing off.