The Home Run Derby is the dumbest thing ever.

[mhendo]

Seriously, who watches this fucking crap?

The guys involved are pro baseball players who hit dozens of home runs in a season off professional pitchers throwing their best stuff.

Why the fuck am i supposed to be surprised or impressed that these same players can hit home runs off some guy lobbing slow balls at them?

What's even more pathetic is how EXCITED the commentators and the fans get. The guy commentating acted like he's never seen a home run before, and the fans go crazy over what is essentially batting practice.

That is all.

[Wolfian]

Originally Posted by mhendo

What's even more pathetic is how EXCITED the commentators and the fans get. The guy commentating acted like he's never seen a home run before, and the fans go crazy over what is essentially batting practice.

So I guess you don't remember people coming to games like 5 hours early to watch MacGuire take batting practice?

Home runs are all American. If you don't like you're clearly a terrorist.

[lieu]

*Raises hand*

It's not that the feat is so difficult, it's more that one, Abreu, excelled so far beyond all his professional competitors. 24 dingers in the first round? That was impressive. And then against others both bigger and smaller than himself he continued to put on a show well beyond everyone else's ability.

I agree that a couple would have been no big deal. But at least one contestant couldn't hit a single one... and Abreu got 40.

[The Weird One]

Point 1: So don't watch it.

Point 2: If you're going to watch it, at least have the good sense not to listen to the announcers. Get some friends, get some beer, get some good conversation going. Start talking about how Bud Selig's face looks like your grandmother's ass and then get someone from Milwaukee to start ranting about how he blackmailed the city into paying for his shiny new stadium when he can't even put together a team worth watching.

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Wolfian

So I guess you don't remember people coming to games like 5 hours early to watch MacGuire take batting practice?

Actually, i moved to the US in 2000, when McGwire's best years were behind him. Also, i've never been to St. Louis. So the answer to that question would be "no."

Actually, i can uinderstand people going to watch batting practice. It's more the huge hoopla surrounding the HRD that i don't understand.

Originally Posted by lieu

It's not that the feat is so difficult, it's more that one, Abreu, excelled so far beyond all his professional competitors. 24 dingers in the first round? That was impressive.

I wasn't talking specifically about this year's event. I didn't even watch it. I'm just talking about the concept of the thing. It's dumb, IMO.

[RickJay]

Originally Posted by mhendo

Actually, i can uinderstand people going to watch batting practice. It's more the huge hoopla surrounding the HRD that i don't understand.

Is there really a lot of hoopla around the Home Run Derby? It's not like it was the lead story on ESPN.

[Troy McClure SF]

Originally Posted by mhendo

It's more the huge hoopla surrounding the HRD that i don't understand.

I wouldn't say it's a huge hoopla... yeah, people are screaming and cheering, but no one's really all that interested in the results, I don't think. It's just an opportunity for everyone to let their hair down and enjoy the best home-run hitters smack the hell out of the ball. I mean, sure, if you look at everything, it's more impressive to see someone tag a major league closer who's throwing 99 mph sliders, but hey, it's just fun to see a guy blow out a few lights in the scoreboard with a baseball from 500 feet away.

Oh, and a good rule of thumb is to ignore the announcers, save Jon Miller, on any national broadcast.

[deadbeater]

1. The only good sports announcers are in the World Series of Poker.

2. It is the only mini-game in which ou can get individual challenges like Mantle vs. Mays, Reggie Jackson vs Jim Rice vs George Foster vs George Brett, Sosa vs McGuire, and anybody vs Bonds, when Bonds feels like it.

[JeffB]

Originally Posted by RickJay

Is there really a lot of hoopla around the Home Run Derby? It's not like it was the lead story on ESPN.

You mean apart from the 2+ hours of live broadcast?

[Morbo]

Actually, ESPN broadcasters, a handful of former Major League old-timers, and Grade Z celebrities playing softball against each other is the dumbest thing ever.*












*degree of of dumbness in direct negavive proportion to total amount of Jennie Finch camera time.

[Frank]

Originally Posted by The Weird One

Point 2: If you're going to watch it, at least have the good sense not to listen to the announcers.

That's it right there. I don't know why they have to act like they do. It is just glorified batting practice; a bit of idle fun, but meaningless.

[Liberal]

Same same with the NBA all-star dunking contest. No one to defend. No one to call travelling. Not even a time clock. And hey wow, they can dunk!

[Frank]

Originally Posted by Liberal

Same same with the NBA all-star dunking contest. No one to defend. No one to call travelling. Not even a time clock. And hey wow, they can dunk!

You came in this thread just so I'd have to change my example of "I never see you in baseball threads." Didn't you?

[Neurotik]

Originally Posted by deadbeater

1. The only good sports announcers are in the World Series of Poker.

It's not hard to be decent when you aren't doing it live and get to do a voiceover on a tape after things have already happened.

[Reeder]

I'm guessing you wouldn't have liked the TV show from 1959 where they put two stars head to head for a nine inning game.

A few that played..

* Hank Aaron
* Bob Allison
* Ernie Banks
* Gil Hodges
* Jackie Jensen
* Harmon Killebrew
* Mickey Mantle
* Eddie Matthews
* Willie Mays
* Wally Post
* Frank Robinson


If it wasn't a home run it was an out.

The show?

Home run derby


More here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Run_Derby

[El_Kabong]

Hey, I like Home Run Derby. YOU go out and try to hit 24 homers (Abreu's first round total) in 17 minutes at the plate, whether the ball's served up from a BP pitcher or your Aunt Alice.

Yeah, it's a silly, completely made-up 'competition' for which the rules change every year; yeah, in MLB's zeal to promote next year's world, world series they tried to fake up some sort of bogus 'international' competition rather than bringing in, duh, the best power hitters in the league; yeah, Chris Berman looked like he was going to pop out of his suit (and why was his face that bizarre color?); yeah, I found myself screaming "shut up! Shut Up!! SHUT UP!!! at Bud Selig after about 1.5 minutes of his self-absorbed blathering; but dang, it's fun to see all those dingers sailing out of the park. And Abreu WAS pretty impressive with the machine-like precision he displayed.

Okay, let the torching begin.

[Manduck]

Sometimes Berman would act like the home run derby was the most exciting thing in the history of the world, the rest of the time he acted like it was an unwelcome distraction from his boring converstations with Selig et al. I wish he would make up his mind. In my opinion, home run derbies should be taped during spring training and shown from time to time during the season to while away rain delays. Making a big deal of it just seems forced to me. Also, Berman should never do live commentary on anything because he absolutely SUCKS at it.

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by Liberal

Same same with the NBA all-star dunking contest. No one to defend. No one to call travelling. Not even a time clock. And hey wow, they can dunk!

Yeah, i was actually going to use the dunking competition as another example in my OP.

I'm looking forward to the day when the NHL All-Star game has the top players competing to see who can score the most penalty shots—without any goaltenders in the net.

[Frank]

Originally Posted by Reeder

I'm guessing you wouldn't have liked the TV show from 1959 where they put two stars head to head for a nine inning game.

I loved it when I got to see repeats. I wish they'd do that again. That's more like a competition.

[World Eater]

Originally Posted by mhendo

I'm looking forward to the day when the NHL All-Star game has the top players competing to see who can score the most penalty shots—without any goaltenders in the net.

I'd like to see the NHL "fistycuff" derby

/putting money on Ty Domi

[Manduck]

Originally Posted by World Eater

I'd like to see the NHL "fistycuff" derby

/putting money on Ty Domi

Get your tickets now! Domi won't be there, though.

[TwistofFate]

Originally Posted by Liberal

Same same with the NBA all-star dunking contest. No one to defend. No one to call travelling. Not even a time clock. And hey wow, they can dunk!

Do you complain about floor gymnastics the same way saying "Hey! they can do cartwheels!"?

[Liberal]

Originally Posted by TwistofFate

Do you complain about floor gymnastics the same way saying "Hey! they can do cartwheels!"?

I must admit that I would be more impressed if they had to do them while someone else tried to stop them.

[Neurotik]

Originally Posted by Liberal

I must admit that I would be more impressed if they had to do them while someone else tried to stop them.

I would have to say that I would actually watch gymnastics if there was someone on the floor trying to stop them. Like a linebacker. Man, those 12 year old little waifs would be toast. Good times.

[robotic_panda]

I like Home Run Derby. We played it as kids with a wiffleball in the backyard.

Oh, THE Home Run Derby? Yeah, it was pretty cool. They raised a lot of money for charity.

It all reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Bart crashes the MLB data-gathering sattelite. Mark McGwire shows up.

"Do you wanna know the dark, terrifying truth... or do you wanna see me hit a few dingers!!"

"DING-ERS! DING-ERS!"

[Trunk]

I think home run derby is stupid, too. Can't understand why people watch it. Can't understand why on every one of the 200 home runs hit, Chris Berman has to act like he's never seen one before.

Still, I pig pile pit it "in theory". It's not being held in my back yard, so I find it easy to ignore.

Maybe I hate it because we never played HR derby wiffle ball. We actually ran bases and the only way to get a guy out was to catch a pop up or drill the runner with the wiffle ball when he was between bases.

[robotic_panda]

Heh, Trunk, if you're talking about me and the wiffle ball Home Run Derby... that was a side game besides regular wiffle ball.

I was a nerd growing up in a baseball family... Oh did I get pelted.

[robotic_panda]

Oh, and I forgot to thank you for assuming I was ignorant. So here it is.
Thanks, dumbass. I'll remember that I'm supposed to RUN around the BASES. Garsh thats diffimicult. I usually hit the ball and sit down again. Garsh.

When you assume...

[Trunk]

Originally Posted by robotic_panda

Oh, and I forgot to thank you for assuming I was ignorant.

What the fuck are you talking about?

Like 99 out of 100 kids play home run derby when they played wiffle ball. We just happened to be ones that ran around the bases.

[Mtgman]

Originally Posted by Liberal

I must admit that I would be more impressed if [floor gymnasts] had to do [their routines] while someone else tried to stop them.

There are several things trying to stop them. Gravity, for starters. Inertia, friction, pretty much the whole environment. And they don't have specialized tools like baseball bats to overcome these physical difficulties. The competition in gymnastics is athelete versus environment. This is every bit as tough an opponent as opposing human beings or arbitrary rules like baseketball shot clocks.

Enjoy,
Steven

[robotic_panda]

Bah jebus... I totally misread you. Apologies, Trunk. I thought you were against HRD wiffle ball.

We did bases too Sorry again.

[Liberal]

Originally Posted by Mtgman

There are several things trying to stop them. Gravity, for starters. Inertia, friction, pretty much the whole environment.

Applies to everybody everywhere all the time, doesn't it?

[Stringer]

I don't mind watching the home run derby. During the All-Star break there aren't any other sports on (except the TDF), and it's mildly entertaining to see the best hitters in the world try to hit the ball as hard as they can. It's not something I plan my week around, but I'll casually watch it.

That said, listening to sports announcers is pretty unbearable for the most part -- especially for meaningless events that are nothing but hypefests. But their job is to be enthusiastic, so I can't hold it against them.

I'm more turned off by the constant product-placement and marketing tie-in extravaganza that the All-Star game has turned into (or has it always been that way and I never noticed?) And don't even get me started on the asinine "winner of the All-Star game gets home field advantage in the playoffs" rule.

[Madd Maxx]

It's the All Star Break. As in a break from regular baseball [read: daily grind] for the players. Basketball does their's half way through the season too. Hockey has one during the season when they are actually still playing that here. Nascar has something similiar too but I can't remember what they call it. Football holds their's after the season is over. Every major sport has an All Star Something-or-Other and the all have some type of skills competition. Dunking may be simple for most of the players in the league, but for most of the viewing public it isn't. The same with hitting home runs, or throwing footballs through a moving tire, or breaking plates in a goal with the puck or driving 200 mph in a circle. Sure they all commercialize the hell out of it, and change the rules and generally overblow the whole thing. But the players that are there enjoy it for what it is; a change of pace and a chance to hang out with their peers, and the ones that don't want to join in the reindeer games stay home and get replaced by guys who will enjoy the experience. Anyone who watched the Home Run Derby Monday will tell you that Miguel Tejada was having more fun than anyone, and he wasn't even participating this year. He was waving his flag, loosening up other guys before their at bat, getting them a towel to wipe their brows with and/or a drink while at the plate and and generally being a cheerleader. He cheered when Bobby Abreau broke the mark for most HR's in a round, and he (Tejada) had set the mark just last year. Sure, its a big hypefest, but the players for the most part seem to enjoy themselves, and watching them enjoy themselves make it more enjoyable to me.

[Mtgman]

Originally Posted by Liberal

Applies to everybody everywhere all the time, doesn't it?

Not in the same way. The inertia you have to overcome to swing a bat is very different from the inertia you have to deal with to do a cartwheel.

Enjoy,
Steven