MLB 2012 Home Run Derby Primer

Baseball’s top sluggers, including Toronto’s Jose Bautista, will be on display Monday night in Kansas City during the MLB Home Run Derby.

The event, which will be shown live at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West, and Pacific, involves four players from the National League and four American League in what has become a prominent fixture during all-star week since 1985 when the first derby was held.

Kauffman Stadium, the host stadium of this year’s derby, is generally considered to be more of a pitcher’s park.

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The Rules:

Since 2011, the team captain from each league (Matt Kemp and Robinson Cano) has selected his teammates.

Once the Home Run derby begins, each player has 10 outs to work with. An out is considered any swing that is not a home run. After every player hits in the first round, the top four home run totals, regardless of team, advance to the following round. If there is a tie, a five swing swing-off takes place with the higher home run total advancing.

In the second round, the four contestants again have 10 outs. After each participant hits, the two batters with the top scores (total home runs in the first two rounds) advance to the final.

The scores are reset in the final with whomever hitting the most home runs in that round winning the event.

Impressive Records:

Most derby home runs (all-time)
1. David Ortiz – 77
2. Ken Griffey, Jr. – 70
3. Jason Giambi – 67
4. Sammy Sosa – 65
5. Mark McGwire – 56

Most all-time Home Run Derby titles
1. Ken Griffey, Jr. – 3

Most home runs in one round
1. Josh Hamilton (28, 2008)

Team with most all-time derby wins
T1. New York Yankees 3 (Cano, Jason Giambi, Tino Martinez)
T1. Seattle Mariners 3 (Griffey Jr., 3)
T1. Chicago Cubs 3 (Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson)
T1. Los Angeles Angels 3 (Vladimir Guerrero, Garrett Anderson, Wally Joyner)

Team: Toronto Blue Jays

Position: RF

Age: 31

Stats: .244 AVG, 27 HR, 65 RBI, .899 OPS

Breakdown: After a rough start to the season, Bautista regained his all-star form and is now tied for the league-lead in home runs with Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. The Blue Jays slugger was the A.L. Player of the Month in June when he mashed an impressive 14 home runs and 30 RBIs. Bautista is the favourite for the event, according to Covers.com, despite only managing four dingers during his derby debut last season.

Team: New York Yankees

Position: 2B

Age: 29

Stats: .313 AVG, 20 HR, 51 RBI, .953 OPS

Breakdown: Like Bautista, Cano had a slow start to the season, homering once in his first 22 games. Since then however, Cano has regained his power stroke as the Yankees have quickly shot up the AL East Standings with a seven-game lead heading into the break. The star second baseman is looking to defend his title after winning the derby last year at Chase Field.

Team: Detroit Tigers

Position: 1B

Age: 28

Stats: .299 AVG, 15 HR, 63 RBI, .885 OPS

Breakdown: With three homers in his past four games, Fielder is doing his best to bring the Tigers back into the playoff picture. Fielder didn’t get off a blazing start after signing a mega-deal with Detroit in the off-season, but the 2009 winner is slugging .679 in July. The Tigers slugger hit nine bombs in the event last year and will be looking for his second derby title.

Team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Position: 3B/OF

Age: 26

Stats: .306 AVG, 22 HR, 57 RBI, .965 OPS

Breakdown: Unlike other A.L .participants, this will be Trumbo’s first appearance in the event. Trumbo has maintained his power stroke in his second season with the Angels and along with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, he has played a huge role in his team’s recent resurgence. In his past 62 games, Trumbo has blasted 19 homers, after hitting just three in April.

Team: St. Louis Cardinals

Position: RF

Age: 35

Stats: .300 AVG, 20 HR, 65 RBI, .924 OPS

Breakdown: Although this will be Beltran’s seventh all-star game, Monday will mark the first time the veteran will be taking part in the derby. Beltran has easily exceeded expectations in his first season with the Cardinals with 20 dingers at the break. The outfielder hasn’t homered in his past 12 games but he spent parts of seven seasons with the Royals last decade. He is on pace to have his best season since 2006 with the New York Mets.

Team: Colorado Rockies

Position: LF

Age: 26

Stats: .330 AVG, 17 HR, 58 RBI, .967 OPS

Breakdown: While the Rockies are underperforming this season, Gonzalez’s performance has lived up to the billing. The Rockies slugger hit an impressive 10 home runs in May and has maintained an average above .300 for the first three months of the year. Like Beltran, Gonzalez is currently on a bit of a cold streak and hasn’t gone yard in 19 straight games. He only has five home runs away from the hitter-friendly Coors Field. This is his first appearance in the event.

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Position: CF

Age: 27

Stats: .355 AVG, 12 HR, 28 RBI, 1.163 OPS

Breakdown: Kemp was one of the hottest players in baseball at the beginning of the season before the Dodgers placed him on the DL at the end of May. Since Kemp’s injury, the Dodgers have struggled and now sit half a game above San Francisco atop the N.L. West. In April, Kemp mashed 12 dingers with 25 RBIs. Kemp was playing hirt in May and his power numbers completely dropped off. He made his first appearance in the derby last season but finished with just two homers.

Team: Pittsburgh Pirates

Position: CF

Age: 2

Stats: .359 AVG, 16 HR, 56 RBI, 1.039 OPS

Breakdown: Like many of the AL counterparts, McCutchen was M.I.A. at the beginning of the season. He didn’t hit a home run in April but the Pirates star outfielder has broken out with 18 homers in his past 59 games. With McCutchen leading the offence, the Pirates have taken off and now sit atop the NL Central standings. McCutchen is making his first derby appearance and is hot at the right time with three dingers in his last six games.

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