Day 323

Fresh Start_323: The Home Run Derby King?

What happen last night in Miami was something that I will have trouble forgetting. The Home Run Derby is something that is such a polar opposite event that it is so captivating that the draw for it makes it so special. Even without Chris Berman announcing the derby this year—the event still drew people in because of the players in the derby itself. The Home Run Derby is an event like the skills competition in the NFL or the dunk contest in the NBA—but it’s something more because the stars of the game actually participate.

Since Aaron Judge busted on the scene earlier this year, the talk of baseball was the matchup between Judge and the Marlins Giancarlo Stanton in the derby. While the actually result wasn’t what it was hyped up to be it doesn’t mean that that dream matchup of Stanton and Judge won’t happen in the coming years. Stanton loves to participate in the derby, and well Aaron Judge just is Aaron Judge.

The ability that he has to hit home runs is unrivalled by anyone who has played the game before him. Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth didn’t have the same ability to hit balls like Judge. While yes, Bonds and Ruth hit a large amount of home runs, they weren’t going as far as say a Judge or Stanton. It might be directly correlated to the dietitians, work out regimens, and sheer size and strength but needless to say what Judge did last night in the derby made me feel like a kid again.

Judge didn’t break the record for a round but he did hit three 500 plus foot bombs into the Miami night. He even hit the roof (which much to my surprise—the roof didn’t break) the home run didn’t count but he hit the roof. Stanton himself said that he has never done that before.

The homers that Judge hit last night took me back to 2008 when Josh Hamilton was in the derby at Yankee Stadium. I was just about to turn 10 years old and I was watching the derby in a house that my family rented in Florida. The feeling of “OH MY GOD I CANNOT BEILIEVE WHAT IS HAPPENING”  was just rushing threw my veins and I loved every second of it. Even though Hamilton wasn’t a Yankee (which was more or less the deciding factor if I liked a player back then) I routed for him, and couldn’t wait to see what was next. Every “back, back, back, back, GONE” from Chris Berman made my 10-year-old mind go into a tailspin. Even though Hamilton wasn’t my pick to win (I loved Dan Uggla back then) I enjoyed every single homer past 8 from Hamilton. He instantly got my vote for winner, even though he lost to the Twins Justin Morneau who hit some moonshots in the Final.

What Judge did last night made me feel that feeling of being 10-years-old again, but this time it was over the distance of the home run ball. I knew Judge would not disappoint and just hit a ridiculous amount of homers, because I’ve seen him take BP before. He’s one of my guys, but I did not anticipate the 500-foot homer from Judge, nevertheless three of them. I was catatonic last night in the second round when Judge hit a 513-foot bomb, then within mere minutes hit a 503-foot home run. That doesn’t take into effect the 501-foot bomb over the Marlin figurine in left center field.

The rawness of that moment is something that baseball fans only get once or twice a game instead of the repetition that the derby brings. Being in that moment of just amazement with my dad and I in disbelief of what he is actually watching. The performance by Judge last night was a once in a lifetime type of derby. That’s the ability that the new format of 4:00 minutes just causes madness to happen on the diamond.

Oh, and let’s not forget the pending 2019 Home Run Derby in Washington D.C. with Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, and hopefully Aaron Judge. Us baseball fans will have to wait for the dream scenario again with Stanton and Judge, but for now, let’s just give Judge the applause that he deserves.

Sources:(mlb.com, bleacherreport.com)

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