2009 Home Run Derby Participants – American League
Posted by: Richie Rich in MLB Home Run Derby, Tigers, TwinsAnd MLB is finally starting to announce the Junior Circuit’s contestants for the 2009 Home Run Derby in St. Louis. Took them long enough. The National League contestants were announced four days ago.
Here are your American League 2009 Home Run Derby Contestants … the AL is certainly lacking in star power compared to the quartet of 1st Basemen the NL is rolling out there.
JOE MAUER – Minnesota Twins, C
15 HR, 15.3 AB/HR, .389 AVG, 1.112 OPS, 47 RBI
Perhaps since Justin Morneau (the other half of the M&M boys from Minnesota) isn’t going to defend his 2008 Home Run Derby title … Mauer might try to do it.
Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire thinks Mauer will win the Derby …
“Joe, in the home run hitting contest? He’d probably win it,” Gardenhire said. “You know it and I know it — just to let people know he can hit home runs. Nothing would surprise me that Joe does.”
My guess is that Mauer has the highest batting average of a player to compete in the MLB Home Run Derby.
BRANDON INGE – Detroit Tigers , 3B
Brandon Inge barely made it to the All-Star Game (he was the winner of the AL’s Last Man Vote) … but less than 24 hours after finding out he was an All-Star, it was announced he’d participate in the Home Run Derby too.
NELSON CRUZ – Texas Rangers OF
Replacing the injured Torii Hunter on Friday morning, Cruz is the latest first time Home Run Derby participant for the AL.
CARLOS PENA – Tampa Bay Rays 1B
Considering that the NL had four first basemen, I guess the AL needed one too.
Pena replaced Dustin Pedroia on the Al Squad, and I wonder if it was because NO ONE else fro the AL would play in the Derby.
Make sure you check out the Wives and Girlfriends of the Home Run Derby Contestants !!
We’re having a Home Run Derby Contest just for the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby!!
Free Entry !!! $250 to the winner!!
Entries (RSS)
July 10th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
The man I would like to see in the home run derby contest is, Russell Branyan from the Mariners. When he hits a home run it has a hang time of over 6 seconds, and you could swear it’s bringing the rain with it.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:19 am
What about Carlos Pena? He should have made the team and headlined in the Home Run Derby, seeing how he’s LEADING the AL in homers!
July 11th, 2009 at 9:28 am
i think carlos pena and evan longoria should be in the home run derby there better then joe maurer and justin morneu
July 11th, 2009 at 9:39 am
hy is Joe maurer in the homer derby? JOE MAURER? He hit 3 home runs last year. Jason bay carlos pena, kevin YOUKilis, big papi (for all hypocrits, he has 12 homers now and is hitting with a .300 avg and has 3 homers in his last 20 ab.
July 11th, 2009 at 9:40 am
no joe mauer is better than anybody in the league right now and pena and longoria arent having as great of a season last year hence their record
July 11th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Hey hold it up what about Marcus Thames.
July 11th, 2009 at 10:43 am
Jason Bay (BOS) should be a participant also….just saying
July 11th, 2009 at 11:01 am
oh please who cares about nl. Al is better!!!!!!! Go mark teixeira!!!!!!!he has 21 homers!and hes on the all star team this year as first baseman!!!
July 11th, 2009 at 11:58 am
tha biggest let down of all in the al voting, R. Cano the best off. n def. 2nd baseman not even a thought in the fans eyes. Ridiculous….
July 11th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Really whyy was Hammy voted in and Sizemore wasn’t? Grady is at least cute but they have both been on the DL so why not Grady? Ohh and So far i really don’t like any player in the home run derby! the only way i’ll watch is if Longo makes it.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
ok serioulsy!? Brandon Inge, i dont follow the Tigers im a mariners fan, but when i think home runs and dominate players inge definitely doesnt even come to mind, not even for the Tigers! ok mauer is a beast of a hitter but hes only got 15 homers, granted he hasnt played as long this season due to injury but the four that should compete with the nl’s 4 considering 3 of 4 of them are 1st baseman, the AL should be Jason Bay, Carlos Pena, Mark Texiera, and lastly Russel Branyan, if you dont know who he is, 1st baseman seattle mariners, 2nd in the league in homers, every homer he hits is a freakin moonshot that hangs for 6 seconds, hes hit 500 foot homers this season, he has to be in it and yet hes not even on the flippin roster. something is wrong here, .298 avg. 22 homers, 66 rbi come on!!!
July 11th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Do you people realize that Joe Mauer missed more than one month of the season? In his first month back he hit 12 home runs alone, and he has a lower AB/HR average than almost anyone in baseball. He’s been under the radar all season and he’s going to surprise a lot of people on Monday.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Where’s Carlos Pena
July 11th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
doesnt matter whos reping the al this year, the “machine” has this in the bag. advantage: his own backyard.
July 11th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
A lot of people out there are saying wheres carlos pena? but its not the mlb’s fault they asked him to be in it and he declined.
July 11th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
ALBERT
July 11th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
You will never….catch ADAM JONES….
July 11th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Also, Mauer is not under the radar. Everyone is talking about him. Watch one episode of Baseball Tonight.
July 11th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Were is Jason Bay and JD Drew, Ethier Way Albert Will win thw whole thing
July 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Where’s the 2008 AL home run champ and 2009 4th place batting and starter on 1st place Tigers Miguel Cabrera? The All Star game voting is a popularity contest and the game is a joke. Bud Selig is a moron for putting world series home field advantage on this game. If he wants it to mean something get the vote away from the people and select the players who deserve to be there.
July 11th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Joe Mauer is the greatest thing to walk this earth. Carlos Pena has to be one of the most worthless ppl!!! why would you even think of having him in the derby. Mauer missed a whole month of the season and has more homers than most others. Not to mention everyone goes opposite field. He is the man and will tear the snot out of the ball at the derby and take the trophy back to minnesota for the 2nd year in a row. Hamilton get eat my butt to he sucks
July 11th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I think it should be Pena. Jason Bay would have been playing but he already said he’d decline..But why not Ortiz? He’s got his swing back
July 11th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
4 the guy way up there that said marcus thames im from mi & r u serious? branyan, texiera, & longoria should’ve been in though and whats with morneau not defending his title?
July 11th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
its obvious that someone in the the nl is gonna win joe mauer sucks cock at hitting home runs and brandon inge r u fucking kidding me nelson cruz deserves it but he wasnt even supposed to be in it at first he replaced tori hunter when he got hurt who ever chooses who is going to be in it is a fucking retard ichiro should b in it and i kno hes not known for hitting home runs but before a game last year i watched his batting practice and he hit four homeruns into the upper deck and obviously carlos pena should b in it he is leading the a.l. in home runs and wtf josh hamilton set the record with the most home runs in a single round and i think it is bull shit how justin morneau that god damn smelly canadian won it
July 11th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
okay this is for the guy way above. SCREW YOUUU! BRandon Inge is a dominate player that does hit home runs so i dont know what your talking about. Oh and one more thing the Tigers can kick the mariners ass any day.And for all of you retards tht say Brandon inge sucks you guys are dumb shits because he is a beast. So next time think before you talk you assholes!
GOOOOOOOOOO BRANDON INGGEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 11th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
WHAT ABOUT BEN ZOBRIST
July 11th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
you guys are all faggets i think that josh hamilton is idiot for mr abccdserfesdefs or what ever your dumb ass name is. the guy probabally does coke nightly he is the biggest fuck up to walk to face of this earth. He looks like a god damn baboon. And for the guy that said mauer cant hit bombs you migh want to check yourself and watch a twins game or two. Hes missed a month of the year and is still right at the top and every shot he hits is oppisite field you dumb idiout. And morneau is a saint and he deserves all the credit for his win im sure hamilton was coked up and juicing like a fricking idiot that god damn fuck up
July 11th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
All the sluggers take a back seat to St. Louis’ Albert Pujols, the envy of allllllll other teams, barr none. He will win the Home Run derby this year, go on the win the Triple Crown and the MVP. Watch him closely, the best, by far, in all of baseball!!!
July 12th, 2009 at 12:16 am
Pena…Papi…Texeira…Hamilton or Miguel Cabrera
July 12th, 2009 at 12:18 am
Zorilla!
July 12th, 2009 at 1:30 am
Ok first off I hate the selections for the al this year. Secondly I think it should just be the top 4 hr leaders in the nl and al at the all star break. Even though mauer isn’t in the top 4 I do believe he would be there if he hadn’t missed a month due to injury. I don’t really follow the tigers much so I don’t know much about brandon inge but I think carlos pena should definitely be in his spot or even jason bay even though I hate him because he plays for the red sox (GO RAYS!). Every time I see nelson cruz on baseball tonight or sportscenter he crushes the ball so I do think he deserves it. But there have been rumors about evan longoria being selected again so that a positive. But ill be there on monday in left field and on tuesday for the all star game and I can’t wait! Look for me on tv ill be the rays fan in left catching pujols’ gold hour ball
July 12th, 2009 at 1:34 am
And for the people talking shit about josh hamilton fuck you. You don’t know what your talking about because he has to take 3 drug tests a week and if he fails one more test he is banned from baseball for life and I don’t think he would risk that
July 12th, 2009 at 2:06 am
You are all forgetting about the least talked about player when in comes to homeruns but when it comes to batting practice. Ichiro is the MAN!!! I myself am a Dodger fan but a true baseball fan and I have heard many baseball announcers talking about him putting balls out of the park at will in batting practice, he was also on the ballot for the AL home run derby I am surprised to not have heard his name. Although I’d love to see him hit, we all know who will win. Albert “THE MACHINE” Pujols. GO DODGERS!!!!
July 12th, 2009 at 8:36 am
mark teixeira has 21 homers he should be in it
July 12th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I think that it is important for both Detroit and Texas to be represented in the HR derby. The 2 teams combine for more than a 1/3 of the top 15 HR leaders ( each team has 3 a peice) . NO other team can say that. I do however think Joe is a joke. he only has 15 HR (which puts him around 25th, with the other 2 both in the top 10) the other 2 have 20 and 21 with Brandon getting his 20th today.
July 12th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I hope the NL wins just because they royally fucked up on the AL home run derby contestants. It should only come down to 1 simple fact! WHO LEADS THE AL IN HOMERS!?
1. Carlos Pena
2. Russell Branyan
3. Nelson Cruz/Morneau/Texiera
so for the last three, who has the longest home run total? those two win.
EASY FUCKING CHEESY!
July 12th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
MAKE THAT 21 FOR BRANDON INGE!! both in the top 5 with Joe at like 23 or 24.
July 12th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
ok so,
1. Carlos Pena
2. Russell Branyan
3. Nelson Cruz/Morneau/Texiera/Inge
same as post 36. though.
July 12th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Pena, Cruz, Inge. that would be 3 of the top 4
July 12th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Why is Joe Mauer in the homerun derby!!!!!!!!
This is ridiculous.
Mark Texiera
Carlos Pena
Jason Bay
these guys should be in the homerun derby!!!!!
Go Yankees
July 12th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
ok i love the twins and ive always loved em, but i really dont think joe mauer should be in the derby, i think morneau should be seeing as though he won it last year and he should be able to defend his title. but if i got to choose it woulda been these 6
JUSTIN MORNEAU
RUSSELL BRANYAN
CARLOS PENA
ALBERT PUJOLS
MARK REYNOLDS
ADRIAN GONZALEZ
July 12th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
wtf wat about Russel Branyan… hes the best hitter (in terms of home runs) on the Mariners. He is the best first baseman inthe AL!!!!!!!!
July 12th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
russel branyon is possibly the worst fielding first baseman in the history of baseball. jeff, if you bothered to read the article, or any of the 5000 times it has been mentioned over the past few days, morneau withdrew to combat fatigue.
July 12th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Without josh this hr derby is pointless….
July 12th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
American League is going to lose with a team that’s sucky, against a team that has Albert Pujols
July 12th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
PUJOLS is going to take the whole thing so every1 shut up alredy
July 12th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
mauer is the man your all fucking idiots josh hamilton is a fuck up he got lucky he hasnt done jack shit this year he needs to quit not cause hes not going anywhere. Pujols will most likely destroy everyone the guy is a fucking maniac he must piss perfection
July 13th, 2009 at 1:21 am
Homerun derby should be about power, lets do Dan Uggla, he got robbed at yankee stadium last year, no way a right hander was going to win at that field.
July 13th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Ok…I am really sick of all of the pro Yankees Red Sox bs… Your closed minds are just annoying. You guys think all of your players should be in the derby and all of your players should be in the All Star game. The only reason you have as many players in the All Star game is because you have more people voting than anyone.
If Joe Mauer was on either the Yankees or Red Sox, you would be lubing up his junk and taking it in every hole you can find. You would be all over this guy. If you listen to any sports expert, they say no doubt Mauer is in the top 5 player in baseball this year. His numbers are up there with some of the best now….and he has missed 1/3 of the season so far (28 games)….so of course his home runs are not going to be as high as everyone else.
No doubt he is not a huge power guy like Pujos. Morneau is the better HR hitter. However, Morneau didnt want to play. End of story…
My belief is that a NL player will win it this year. The AL grouping is a bit weak.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Wow…a lot of comments saying “Mauer is garbage”, “Mauer shouldn’t be in the derby”. If you truly think Mauer is garbage, your insane!!!!!!!!
July 14th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Russel Branyan denied the homerun derby cause he does not want to get distracttd
His focus from the team. Oh abd brandon inge is a good player but I don’t think he will hit any homeruns.
July 14th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
i am so mad that pujols did not win
July 14th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
i did not even know who nelson cruz was before the home run derby. Go Pirates! I am mad that they traded mclouth.
July 14th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
@ gjhgfjhfgjf
Yet another biased Red Sox fan. If you think Papi should be in the derby, you’re RETARTED! Fist of all, he had 9 homers last year, not 3. Shut your mouth if you don’t know what you are talking about. Secondly, he has three more homers than Papi this year, and one less than Youkilis, but Mauer’s HR/AB % is much better than Kevin Youkilis.