Home Run Derby

[BruisedCrew]

I used to enjoy watching the Home Run Derby, but my interest waned over the years and the new format completely turns me off. 
 

I understand the problems with the original format as players would take several pitches at a time both to rest up and wait for perfect pitches to hit. So something had to be done to introduce a time element. But I think the current machine gun format removes the enjoyment of seeing majestic blows sail into the stands, and wears the players out as the rounds proceed.

I don’t care enough to think too much about it, but I think the event would be more watchable if they introduced a limit on how many swings each player got per round, and a time limit on getting those swings in. A new pitch could not be thrown until the ball lands on the previous pitch. It would make the event more like a 3 point shooting contest. 
 

For anyone old enough to remember the old Home Run Derby shows that aired in the late 50’s and used to be shown occasionally on the MLB network, a variation on a format like that with “innings” where each player got so many swings or “outs” per inning would be more entertaining to me than what they do now.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I haven't watched it for years either - I always thought a cool format that would also move along much quicker would be a point scoring system, where different parts of the stadium would count for various point totals. hit a pull side HR that scrapes over the fence = 2 points.  Hit a dead center HR = 5 points, Oppo HR = 5 points, 425+ foot HR = 7 points, etc....

Then you have a series of rounds where each hitter gets 10 or so swings to tally their score for that round, and the field is cut in half each round until you have a head to head final where each hitter hits as many HR's as they can while getting 10 or so "outs".

[Outlander]

I had not watched in years but watched the final two rounds with the kids and found it enjoyable. Don't need to complicate things too much. It is hard to keep track of the home runs at times as the camera doesn't get them all. Probably more dangerous for the kids catching the balls as well since it is more fast paced, it kid did take a header from one of Guerrero's hits.

[owbc]

The HR derby is one of my favorite events of the year and it was pretty wild to watch in person last night. There were often two home run balls in the air at the same time. The crowd really gets into it when a player smacks a few in a row like that which is exactly the situation that makes it difficult to watch on TV. I'll admit that it was even tricky to watch in person because your eyes want to be looking in two or even three places at once. 

I get why they do the current format -- it is optimized for getting as many home runs as possible -- and it's clearly working to accomplish that goal since there were something like 340 home runs hit last night. 

This event probably draws more non-baseball fans than any other event of the year, so my inkling is that it doesn't necessarily have to be appealing to baseball fans and it's ok to make it a bit gimmicky. The event has certainly benefitted from the format changes over the years -- the "outs" format was clearly inferior to the current timed version, but now the timed version has run its course and it's time to make more changes. 

Any change to the format will test something different -- right now it's largely an endurance test which is fine but BruisedCrew's idea to limit the number of swings in a timed round is appealing. That could potentially introduce some other incentives like giving a bonus swing for an opposite-field home run or hitting one beyond a certain distance. The main thing that is lost in the current format is probably the 475+ ft home runs, since there's no incentive to hit more than two 440+ ft home runs under the current rules. 

Another idea that I have is to make the bonus round consist entirely of incentive-based swings (or pitches). One bonus swing for every 440 ft home run, two for every 480 ft home run. And maybe some other incentives like the opposite-field home runs or bonus swings for hitting home runs on more than 3 consecutive pitches. The possibilities are endless which is part of what makes it fun!!

By the way, the all-star game itself needs a format change as well. I think it will come eventually and I don't know exactly what it should be ... maybe not as crazy as having them play banana ball but something along those lines would be kind of fun. 

 

[folly412]

I preferred the old 10 outs-based format. 

Also, today's players can't come close to the level of coolness at the Derby as Griffey.  Every kid on the playground had his hat on backwards the next day.

[BruisedCrew]

I’m not sure what you can do to change the All Star Game itself. The game has become less entertaining over the years, partly because the proliferation of closers tends to shut down the offenses. Also, the desire to get in as many players as possible (some of whom are already replacements) means you don’t see as much of the game’s biggest stars. I remember when players like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron would play the whole game and get 4 ABs. 
 

Even with its problems though, the baseball ASG is the only one of the 4 major sports that actually looks like a game. The no defense spectacles in the NBA and NHL are a complete joke. At least the NFL got the message and ended the charade completely. 

[LouisEly]

I tried watching the Statcast version thinking it would be interesting and it was not a good experience.  I couldn't for the life of me tell how many HRs a player had hit so far.   And the whole thing languished on way too long.

I would:

1. Make the first round one round of swings only.
2. Can't throw the next pitch until the prior pitch lands but still get as many swings as you like.
3. Second round is two rounds but shorter time per round.
4. I like the idea of bonus time/swings for dingers of a certain distance

[AKCheesehead]

Yeah I tried the statcast one for a little while but it was just too much at once. 
 

One thing I would enjoy if they ran it by amount of swings, or the old outs format, is do it by total distance of HRs added up.  At least in one of the rounds. It’d be fun to watch these guys trying to hit it to the moon. 

[StearnsFTW]

I thought the derby was terrible, but it may have been better than this game.

 

Great cure for insomnia.

[BruisedCrew]

A rare ASG win for the Brewers league. 
 

I’d like to think that it’s just a coincidence, but dominance in the game went from the NL to the AL just about the time the Brewers changed leagues. 

[wiguy94]

10 minutes ago, BruisedCrew said:

A rare ASG win for the Brewers league. 
 

I’d like to think that it’s just a coincidence, but dominance in the game went from the NL to the AL just about the time the Brewers changed leagues. 

NL snaps the losing streak, but no Brewers participate in the game...are we the problem? haha

[Pugger]

Last night isn't the first time our lone Brewer didn't play so I guess I didn't I didn't miss much.  Well, at least the NL won it for the first time in a dozen years.

In the Home Run Derby the one thing I would change is for each competitor to carry over the homers to the next round and have the player who hits the most homers win.  Thus each guy is competing against the clock and not another player.