Skip to main content

Hooray, New Home Run Derby! Keep the Modern Changes Coming!


I couldn't wait for it. I'm a huge baseball geek, and for years I've attempted to tell everyone who would listen that the MLB All-Star festivities are by far better than any other league's. Yes, even the NBA's, who indeed does a second-to-none job on marketing, production, hype, and overall connection with a younger fanbase - an area in which MLB and commissioner, Rob Manfred, has made a top priority upon taking office 

For me, what separates baseball from the rest, my biases aside of course, is that the actual competition and purity of the weekend. You can't go through the motions in baseball the way you can in the other sports. The way we see in the NBA, NHL, and even the mighty NFL. Especially, the NBA where great production can become overproduction with less substance that the hype may lead you to believe. 

Even with the All-Star Game yet to be played, the MLB All-Star festivities has been awesome.

Starting with the Futures Game, which has the best gimmick that can't be duplicated in any other sport, perhaps other than soccer. In an age where the identities and draft picks of teams are now more transparent and knowledgeable to fans, this game has taken on a whole new meaning from anonymous players we watch with intrigue, to anticipation of seeing "our guys" and other prospects play one another. My only gripe is that the game is still held on a Sunday afternoon at the same time as MLB wraps up it's first half with regular season games. Put the game on Sunday night! 

And then there is the Home Run Derby. Ah yes, I love this event. Sure it's waned over the years with guys taking pitches, the action stalling out, and it feeling like it would never end - typical baseball, right? But  with this new format and new rules? A whole new derby was christened last night. Absolutely genius. I loved it. I love it. And I hope it stays this way forever. 

The match ups, the tournament bracket style, the intrigue - everything! It keeps interest as I too want to see big time match ups like Anthony Rizzo vs. Josh Donaldson and Prince Fielder vs. Todd Frazier. And well, I just want to watch Joc Pederson swing all day, because the dude makes hitting a baseball so far look so damn easy. 


Also, the time element adds something new that baseball just doesn't have anywhere in it's game. 

Last night's Home Run Debry felt fresh, it felt intriguing, it felt full of suspense. Quite frankly, I felt like a little kid again watching Todd Frazier and Joc Pederson rake. Oooooh-ing and Ahhh-ing, and simply laughing with child-like excitement when guys would put three, four, sometimes five homers in a row.

Sure, I can go without Chris Berman on the call, and it even seems they realized that from last year's Twitter trending of Berman - mostly with negative feedback - by mixing up the call with Karl Ravech and others, but otherwise, the Home Run Derby was awesome. And the almighty king that is TV ratings absolutely proved it. 


Dare I say, I'm looking forward to next year's event. I'm completely on board as of late with what Commissioner Manfred has been doing. I tip my hat to you, sir! Keep the modern changes coming. Keep em' coming. 
Labels:

Recently Read Posts

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 6/19/22

3 Up 1. Father's Day and Juneteenth - A combined weekend of all-sort of celebrations, reflections, and appreciation. Sending gratitude and good vibes to all fathers, substitute fathers, step-in fathers, mentors, and figures who have helped shape the lives of many.  Also, take some time to reflect and think through the reflective day that is Juneteenth - new to so many - of the horrific start to our country's existence, and the freedom that came after a century of captivity.  2. Ashley Adirika - This is a dope story. It's the kind of story that is amazing and quite frankly, inspirational. Adirika, a Florida teen, graduates high school with offers from all Ivy schools and many more top institutions in the country. If that wasn't enough, Ashley also started her own non-profit organization to help mentorship for young women.  Unbelievably amazing.  3. Steph Curry - My dude was cooking! Steph continues to be one of my favorite athletes, and such a joy to watch. I was there
Read more

Dope Sports Threats - Nike City Connect Series (Milwaukee Brewers)

Before we dive into the Milwaukee Brewers Nike City Connect uniforms, I want to give some major props to the Brewers organization for handling the Lorenzo Cain situation . Allowing Cain to remain with the team long enough to reach the 10-year milestone, despite a subpar performance and every intention to designate him for assignment, is classy.  Of course, that 10 years (and 5 years with the same team) gives Cain added incentives to his pension as a Major League player. The Brewers didn't have to do that. Classy stuff.  As for these new threads, it's tough for Nike to surpass the aesthetics of the Brewers' current everyday design. The pinstripes, the combination of blue and yellow, the arc of the font across the chest - all of it just feels like the very best of old-school-baseball-in modern-age-aesthetics. And yes, there is the beautiful, amazing, fantastic logo that sits atop the hat is a baseball glove, wrapped with the secret message of "MB" (Milwaukee Br...yo
Read more

Grappling w/ School Safety Updates

I never once thought this would be a part of my experience as a parent. I've grappled with future conversations, thought about how I'll help my multi-racial son through the world that will surely be complex in how it views him, and yes, brace myself for those conversations - you know the ones. Those conversations that my parents had with me, a child of color, in disarming my presence in specific spaces.  Never did I expect to find myself grappling with the reality of the new topic for that awkward sit down to make the first imprint on life memories - son, here is what you need to do if there is a mass school shooting ... I have made no secret here on this site - my upbringing was not pure, was not clean. Not me per se, but I was certainly exposed to my fair share of violence, drugs, and various matters that desensitized and jaded how exposed my experiences really were. My academic environment - specifically high school - was a challenge. Underfunded, overcrowded, excessive v
Read more

Dear Son, First Swell of Pride

--- 3 Years, 9 Months --- Dear Son,  It's been a while since I've dropped a note to you - actually I haven't done so since your last birthday. The last nine months since then have been trying, tremendous, and of course, VERY interesting. We've been able to witness your personality come to be, your talents begin to blossom, and overall, you begin to establish yourself very early in this world.  After all, COVID continues and really has been a dominant presence in your life. While masks as of this writing are no longer required in school, over the past few months your mother and I have had you home again, a lot - much like the start of the pandemic - after variants of COVID closed your school repeatedly (and frequently), and for a brief moment had society on edge.  Regardless, we made it. And during those stints of 8 days, 10 days, or whatever the state mandate was at the time for the latest recent closure, I learned not how much you missed school, but truly, how much you
Read more