Home Run Derby

Somewhere, Mitch Williams is smiling. 

Nearly fifteen years after the Phillies lost to the Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series … The Phillies extract a little revenge.

Earlier this year, Jayson Werth earned a Home Run of the Day with an Inside-the-park job at Colorado … I guess that wasn’t enough for Werth, who felt he had to lay a whuppin on the Blue Jays … all by himself.

And only one of those longballs was a solo shot.  Werth hit a 3-run jack and a Grand Slam in the second and third innings off Jays’ starter David Purcey, who practically grooved two balls right in Werth’s wheelhouse. 

Here’s Video of the Grand Slam and the Solo shot …

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No, you’re not drunk and seeing things in triplicate …  

The Reds broke out of their hitting woes today against the Cubs.  Dusty Baker’s heretofore Big Dead Machine popped out seven Home Runs (including four against Jon Lieber in the 2nd inning) in a 9-0 shutout of the Chicago Cubs in the Great American Bandbox in Cincinnati.

But that wasn’t close to being the story of the game.  Because Reds rookie 1B Joey Votto slugged three of those dingers … and that means he gets a 3 Homer Night post at HRD.  Votto tagged three different Cubs pitchers for longballs during his feat and even stole a base during the game. 

He had a chance in the eighth inning to hit his fourth Home Run … but grounded out.

Votto becomes only the third Canadian to have a Three Homer Night in Major League Baseball.  I think I’ll crack open a Moosehead tonight, if I can find one.

The others were Larry Walker (with the Rockies in 1997) and Justin Morneau (with the Twins in 2007).

Votto also joins Fred Lynn and Mark McGwire among a number of players who have hit three Home Runs in a game during their rookie season.  He’s the first rookie since Jonny Gomes did it back in 2005.

In case you’re wondering, only one team - Oaktags - has Joey Votto in our Home Run Derby contest.  Oaktags just hopped up into a tie for third place.

We’ve already unveiled our Andre Dawson Awards this week … so let’s go back twenty years to Andre Dawson’s MVP season in 1987 - specifically August 1, 1987.

The Chicago Cubs were 5.5 games back of the Cardinals.  The Philadelphia Phillies were at Wrigley Field.

And Andre Dawson smoked the Phillies for Home Runs #29, #30 and #31.

The following video clip is great to see Dawson in his prime and to hear Harry Caray and Steve Stone call the action.

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October 18, 1977 - Game Six of the 1977 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.

Reggie Jackson made history.

World Series History.

Baseball history.

Can you believe that it’s been thirty years since Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in a World Series game?

Making that feat more impressive is that he did it in three consecutive swings in that game. Even more amazing is that he hit a Home Run on his last swing of Game Five.

Four Swings. Four Home Runs.

Watch the Video (won’t work in Firefox)

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Frank Thomas, designated hitter for the Blue Jays, just made things even more interesting in the American League East … by hitting three Home Runs in a win over the Boston Red Sox.

Coupled with the Yankees’ win in Baltimore … the Red Sox lead in the American League East is now down to 3 1/2 games with 13 days left in the regular season.

The milestone is Frank Thomas’ second career Three Homer Game and his first since September 15, 1996 in a game against … the Boston Red Sox.

That’s kinda cool.

Justin Morneau crushes the first of his three Home Runs on Friday night.  It was his first career three-homer game.

I’m looking forward to seeing Morneau on Monday night in the Home Run Derby.

He’s been mostly indestructible this year.

First, in May he had his nose broken by a goofy hop of a relay throw. Played the next night.

Then, in June, he had a wicked collision with Miguel Olivo which left him with a bruised lung and a stay in the hospital. He played six days later.

I bet he played hockey growing up in Canada, eh?

Today, I am ashamed of my Sox-fandum.  How on earth can I root for a team that gave up 32, yes 32 runs in a double header.  It reminds me of why I became a Sox fan.  Back when I was about five or six years old, I went to my first MLB game, actually it was a double header at Wrigley, where I watched the Cubs get creamed in both games, by the Pirates I think, but I can’t quite remember for sure.  It was then I knew I could never root for that team.  Anyway, I digress. 

I am taking a moment to recognize Justin Morneau’s three homer game because, since he is not on the Cubs, Richie won’t post on it (even though that lame excuse he used about Brad Wilkerson’s three homer day doesn’t apply here).  Not bad considering the man was hospitalized a week ago. 

The Reigning “BS” MVP hit a solo, two-run and three run homer tonight, falling a grand slam short of the “homerun cycle.”  How rare is the homerun cycle you ask? Well, it has never happened in the history of major league baseball.  A quick perusal of the baseball almanac tells us, that a four homer game has happened only 14 times in the history of baseball.  Examining the box scores for each of those games only Mark Whiten hit at least the magic 10 RBIs necessary to have hit for the homerun cycle (Whiten actually had 12 RBI, with a granny, two three run bombs and a two run shot). 

Well at least its three homeruns for 300 Spartans Squad.  And BTW, The White Sox Suck.