Home Run Derby!

[JWS]

The pre All-Star game Home Run Derby is tonight coming from Angel Stadium in beautiful downtown Anaheim.



Defending champ Prince Fielder was not asked to participate in the Derby. Neither was this season's long-ball leader, Jose Bautista. None of the previous winners in the 25-year-old event will take a turn, either.

But don't worry. Baseball still has plenty of firepower to put on display even if the field lacks luster.


Picking the favorite is easy: Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers' first baseman has been the majors' most dangerous hitter this season and enters the break on a 19-game hitting streak. He has appeared in only one derby, finishing third in 2006.

Only two others in the field have derby experience, David Ortiz (2004-06, with a third-place finish in '05 his best showing) and Matt Holliday (third in 2007).

Of the five first-timers, only Corey Hart ranks in the top 10 this season with 20 homers. Vernon Wells has hit 19, Chris Young 15, Nick Swisher 14 and Hanley Ramirez 13.

[bucklind17]

Nick Swisher is my favorite baseball player so I'm super excited he gets to be included in this! Especially since his presence at the All-Star game wasn't even official until last week! I don't have ESPN but I may need to run to the sports bar down the street to catch some. I hope he represents!

[estranged4life]

but I don't have a favorite among those who will participate.

And for the record, The Angels (In my eyes) will always be the California Angels...Not the "LA Angels of Anaheim until WE change our name again to compete with the Dodgers"

[chiliD]

It'll be interesting to watch. From 1998 until 2 years ago, I lived less than 3 miles from Angels Stadium....odd thing is that I didn't go to one game there in that time frame. Yet I've been to either games or concerts there probably close to 100 times over the course of my lifetime.

I saw the Home Run Derby the last time the All-Star game was there in 1989 (won by Eric Davis, with ONLY 3 HRs)....and I remember the first time it was there in 1967, we'd just gotten our first color TV that morning; so it was the first baseball game I ever watched in color on TV; then my family and I left for our 8 week trip to Europe the next day.

Sadly to say, this time around, nothing "major" is in store ....yet, anyway. There's still hope.

"Beautiful Downtown Anaheim"??? The stadium is FAR from "downtown". It's in the middle of "Let's level 4 square miles of lucrative industrial buildings so we can build 1000's of overpriced lofts that will never sell"---town.

[JWS]

Originally Posted by chiliD

It'll be interesting to watch. From 1998 until 2 years ago, I lived less than 3 miles from Angels Stadium....odd thing is that I didn't go to one game there in that time frame. Yet I've been to either games or concerts there probably close to 100 times over the course of my lifetime.

I saw the Home Run Derby the last time the All-Star game was there in 1989 (won by Eric Davis, with ONLY 3 HRs)....and I remember the first time it was there in 1967, we'd just gotten our first color TV that morning; so it was the first baseball game I ever watched in color on TV; then my family and I left for our 8 week trip to Europe the next day.

Sadly to say, this time around, nothing "major" is in store ....yet, anyway. There's still hope.

"Beautiful Downtown Anaheim"??? The stadium is FAR from "downtown". It's in the middle of "Let's level 4 square miles of lucrative industrial buildings so we can build 1000's of overpriced lofts that will never sell"---town.

I know. What they have done there is way over built. And, worse, one of my favorite restaurants across from the stadium "The Catch", was torn down and is now just a vacant slab.

Those condos and apartments will take years to fill. Personally, I wouldn't want a condo with a view of Angels Stadium, parking lots and a freeway.

[JWS]

It's looking good for Big Papi David Ortiz.

[JWS]

It's Ortiz 11-5

[GODDESS6]

huge red sox fan here, big papi was bad ass & a genuine good guy last night!!!~ i was so happy he won~

did anyone watch the celeb softball game afterwards?, it was funny & i wouldn't miss jenny finch for anything~