Home Run Derby

Unlike a lot of fantasy baseball contests, which had you pick your roster before the Red Sox and A’s travelled to Japan to kick off the season …

… Homerderby.com’s 2008 Home Run Derby Contest is still accepting entries.  And we’ll keep on taking entries until noon on Monday, March 31st.  Because we start on Opening Day.  And that’s on Monday, March 31st.

For a mere $25, you get a chance to participate in a great contest with guaranteed minimum prizes of $2,500 to the winners.  Unlike many Home Run Derby contests, standings will be updated weekly (if not daily) and there will be six months of interactive dialogue about who’s in the lead via our weekly recaps.

How to play?  Simple.  After reading the Official Rules, simply select 15 players from the 2008 Player Groups and submit your entry via our online entry form.  Then pay up.

Cash prizes are awarded to the top three finishers in the first half, second half and the full season standings.  Plus, there will be other prize opportunities along the way.

I guarantee you’ll have fun whether you win or not

It’s BACK!!

The 2008 Home Run Derby Contest is Live for its fifth straight season.  And it’s better than ever.

The game remains the same - choose 15 Home Run Hitters from Five Groups (3 players from each Group of 10 players) -  if your players hit more Home Runs than anyone else … YOU WIN!!

This year will be bigger and better than ever.  Especially since HRD is guaranteeing $2,500 IN PRIZES AND A GUARANTEED $1,000 TO THE FULL SEASON CHAMPION. 

Please go and check out the Official Rules, the 2008 Player Groups, and the Online Entry Form.  There is a $25 entry fee.

The 2007 Champions are set to return and try to become the first to go back-to-back in The Derby.  The 2006 Champion has already promised a return to glory.

Our 30 Teams in 30 Days feature has been geared toward the Home Run, and our updated Ballpark Analyses are here to help you pick your team.  We’ll also have player profiles for Groups A, B, C and D … and maybe a couple from Group E (the write-in Group).  This season will be tougher.  Group A has been broken into three smaller subgroups so the pack doesn’t just take the top three guys and not step out on a limb …

As usual, we’ll have the daily standings updates and a weekly recap of who hit em and who missed em.   

It’s gonna be a fun 2008 Derby.  You’ll have a blast whether you win or not.

You have until 12:PM CDT on Monday March 31, 2008 to enter the 2008 Home Run Derby Contest sponsored by homerderby.com.

Somebody out there really knows me (actually, full disclosure: I do have a friend at ESPN Zone that forwarded this on to me) and designed the perfect contest for me, and probably many readers of this site.

Yep a “watching TV, eating, and drinking as much as you want all while sitting in a perfect recliner” contest. The ESPN Zone in Chicago is running its 6th annual (who knew they had already run 5 of these before), Ultimate Couch Potato Competition. 

This is no joke, it is a real competition. 

The rules are simple: sit in a comfy DreamSeat recliner in the front row of the Screening Room facing a wall of HD TVs, all showing non-stop sports programming and featuring the college bowl games. 

Participants can order unlimited food and beverages compliments of ESPN Zone, however they may not sleep or leave their chair and restroom breaks are permitted every eight hours.

The ESPN Zone in New York is going to have their first one this New Year’s Day.   Second City my ass.

Five lucky participants (including last year’s champ) have a duel to see who can sit on the recliner the longest while watching sports, eating and drinking without falling asleep. You get a bathroom break every 8 hours.  According to the site, last year’s winner made it 40 hours.

I think this Greek could take this in a breeze, but alas, there is NO way I get a 2 or 3 day hall pass to compete, especially from work (the contest starts on New Year’s Day and this finance guy can’t miss year end close).

It really is too bad, because among the prizes you win if you are the last person awake is a 42 inch HD TV, which I really need.  And get this … no matter win or lose, if you make it 12 hours, you get to the keep the recliner!!  12 hours … any amateur sports watcher should be able to do that.

Maybe one of you guys out there have the right stuff to do this!  Check out the site and enter if you so choose.  Maybe Richie will throw in a Homerderby.com T-shirt if you win …

Do we have those Richie?

New Blood in our little Home Run Derby contest is always nice.

Usually it’s fresh meat.

Thanks for the donation, guys … you know who you are.

However, in the guise of Triple Crown, Master-Batters, and The Great Hambino … sometimes it’s not to be taken lightly. These three Derby newcomers finished 1-2-3 in the Derby 1st Half standings and will take home cash prizes for their 2007 Home Run prognostications. And just think … they’ll all be in the running for the 2nd Half and Full Year prizes as well.

(more…)

Phil and Triple Crown need a new dictionary … because he was using one with a bad definition of insurmountable. 

As in “Triple Crown has an insurmountable lead.”

From Mirriam-Webster’s online dictionary:

Insurmountable  (Adj)

Pronounication: in-sur-maun-te-bl

Definition:          Impossible to surmount, surpass

Well, Triple Crown did NOT have an insurmountable lead, as your new leader is your old leader … The Master-Batters (225 HR) regain control of the 2007 Home Run Derby leaderboard.  Triple Crown falls into second place (223 HR) while The Great Hambino (215 HR) gets his third place spot back from Hackers (214 HR).  There are six teams just out of third place.

This week’s high mark went to Empire of Dirt with 24 Home Runs.  The worst peformance of the week went to El Guapos, who continue their free-fall with 8 measly Home Runs.

(more…)

Time for the annual Derby breakdown of player picks.  Interesting trends this season …

Group A is really top heavy this season with at least one of the three big guns (Pujols, Ortiz, Howard) on all but one roster.  Seventeen rosters have all three.  Curious that last season’s HR leader only tied for the 6th most picked player in the Derby.

Group B has a similar trend with three big names before the dropoff.  Adam Dunn finally gets some respect in this Derby.  This Group also holds the Derby’s only orphan - Jason Giambi. 

Group C is much more competitively distributed and could easily be the tipping point for the winners this season.  This was a really tough group to just choose three guys.

Group D is ruled by Derrek Lee who probably was Group C material in his comeback bid.  Miguel Cabrera was also a value pick here too.  But I should not have elevated Matsui and Griffey Jr. to this group.

Group E is always my favorite.  A few picks that I expected due to their hype in the SportsMedia and Fantasy Baseball communities (Fielder, Atkins, Sizemore, and Wright) offset by the ones that come in out of left field like Teahen, Markais and Hawpe.

The first pitches have been thrown and we are under way.  Provided nothing shows up in my mailbox today or tomorrow with a March 31 postmark … there will be 39 Entries in the 2007 Home Run Derby.  And that’s a 35% increase over last season’s numbers.  I was hoping for more participation, but hopefully the blog will drive 2008’s figures as it gets more established.

Cleveland’s Grady Sizemore made his first swing of the season count as he hit a 1-0 offering from Jose Contreras over the right field wall.  And that’s the first Home Run that counts for Home Run Derby.  Adam Dunn and Miguel Cabrera have also cleared the fences - which probaby means someone has a early lead in the Derby.

Thank you to all who have joined the Derby.  We will have a blast this season.   I’m looking to have the full Home Run Derby grid up with team names and players and payouts in the next couple days.  The first Chicagoland get-together will be coming up VERY soon.

Time is running out. Opening Day is two days away and there’s Only Two Days left to join HomerDerby.com’s Home Run Derby Contest! Entries are flying in and we should easily surpass last season’s participation. Right now we’re at a 60% return rate from last season and there’s a lot of new names as well.

Some quick links for everyone …

• Official Rules
• Player Groups
• Player Profiles for Groups A, B, C, D, and E
  
• Ballpark Profiles (more coming soon)
• The Entry Form
• Comment registration

We’re getting some great traffic lately - so a big WELCOME! Except for the clowns who keep trying to spam the comments section of the Barry Bonds Gigantism post.

Who is the silhouette in the HomerDerby.com logo?

A “Super Prize” goes to the first person to post the right answer in the comments. That means you’ll have to register to be eligible to win the prize.

 And we have our winner … Bob McT correctly guessed Ryan Howard after Nick the Greek mentioned that the silhouette was batting left-handed. 

Bob wins a $5 Gift Certificate to Buffalo Wild Wings !