Home Run Derby

Once we got Jamula onto his plane we looked forward to the Home Run Derby.  We anticipated an all day event since doors to the stadium opened at 2 and the Derby Started at 5.  I picked up Nate from LAX around 11:30 and he immediately wanted to come.  As it turns out, the later you wait on events like this, the cheaper you can get tickets.  He paid $20 less than we did and he got a better ticket (the right field seats) than we had (upper deck behind home plate).

We got ourselves together and headed to Anehiem.  We got there and in the parking lot there was a pregame activity area.  There was a Wiffleball Home Run Derby with an amazing field, and a mile long line; Fast pitch, all sorts of ways to get free stuff, and places to get you picture taken.  We got to hit in a Nike hitting cage where they use a pitching machine to throw fastballs and curveballs.  Supposedly according to the guy handing out helmets and bats, I hit the curve the best all day. We did a fast pitch game and Ben hit low 70's i hit high 60's.  In order to win, girls and little kids had to reach 50 but guys had to be able to throw 80!  No one that we saw broke 80, or got close. The prize was a fleece MLB Bank of America blanket, but we managed to get 3 anyway from answering trivia questions and surveys.  

After getting our fill of that stuff we went in the park and explored our chances at getting an autograph.  Not a chance.  We walked around for a while exploring merchandise stores and watching BP from different seats.  I could tell that this BP wasn't just any BP because as soon as we walked in we saw a group of David Wright, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, and Ryan Braun.  Arguably the three best 1st basemen in the MLB and 2 starters in the all star game. It was pretty amazing how hard the balls were hit. 

We ended up sitting in our seats because we could get three together (why make someone sit alone?) and because it was a good overall view of the stadium.  The hitter was probably equidistant from the right field fence to us so that we could get a full view of the arch of the home run.  One thing about the home run derby is that they have a pop artist perform at the beginning.  I'm not sure why someone thinks that people coming to see the home run derby would want to also see a Train concert, but it happens every year.  The announcer went over the rules and then we got going.

I should mention that during all the pregame activities people were handing out scratch tickets to match to the distance of any home run hit with 9 outs (the golden ball).  Between the three of us we had about 15 different ticket ranging from a little over 300 feet to 522 feet! (Fat chance of 522, but nevertheless we had a good shot with all the tickets we held)

In the first round, Chris Young and Vernon Wells hit a total of 3 Home Runs in 20 outs which wasn't very exciting.  Corey Heart stepped up and pounded 13 home runs. That part was awesome but he didn't hit any golden balls out and he didn't really get on a streak.  Swisher hit 4 and got booed each time for being a Yankee.

During each intermission, where, if you were watching it on TV, you probably saw commercials, we were more entertained with lots of cool stuff. We saw awards get given to Pujols and Mauer for being the top vote getters, Reggie Jackson interview Hank Arron and Rod Carew about hitting home runs, and comedian Will Ferrell, a SoCal native and Angels fan, give an interview which was pretty amusing.

Four batters advanced from the first to second round: Corey Hart of the Brewers with 13 in the first, Florida Marlin Hanley Ramirez with 9, Boston's David Ortiz (aka Big Papi) with 8 and Detroit Tiger Miggy Cabrera with 7. Cabrera seemed to be the most promising coming in, but disappointed the crowd in not even reaching double digits in the first round.

The second round got a little more exciting. Cabrera would have gone first, but since he had just gone last in the first, Ortiz led off this round (it took us a few minutes to figure out why Papi led off). Papi put on quite the show jacking 13, most of which were laser shots down the right field line flirting with the foul pole and the fench. Angels stadium, by the way, is quite the lefty friendly ballpark so David had a bit of an advantage.

Since Corey Hart didnt hit a single home run and Cabrera did match Papi, the only other person to move on was Hanley Ramirez.  He was wearing shinny silver cleats, which is probably what made him hit more home runs (jk).  Papi and Hanley moved onto the finals where the last rounds home runs are wiped.  Ben obviously wanted Papi to win and it looked like it would end that way once he hit 11 for the final round.  Hanley put up a good fight with 5 but it was not enough.  Papi wins!

The scoreboard was keeping track of how many home runs we saw.  By the end it was over 100 and they said that it was over 8 miles worth of home runs.  With all the antics that come with the derby, like the mid round Gatorade breaks, the backwards or no hats, silver shoes, and kids on the sidelines, this event was a great exhibition event.

Ive heard stories of other skill competitions.  I think it would be good for baseball to re implement other type of events like this because it would set the stage for skill competitions for kids and lower leagues.  Only good things can happen with that.

After we got home, we up and got tickets for the all star game the next day.  We had such a good time at the derby, we couldn't pass up the all star game.