Home Run Derby

The MLB Home Run Derby is right around the corner (literally – it’s on Monday).

Some of MLB’s top sluggers will be hitting lots of Home Runs in the Derby … but we thought it would be fun to take a peek at who these guys will be hitting “Home Runs” with AFTER the Derby.  Namely, their Wives and Girlfriends (WAGs).

Wink-Wink, Nudge-Nudge.

Without further delay … the WAGs of the 2009 Home Run Derby …

 NATIONAL LEAGUE HOME RUN DERBY WAGs

Deidre (Dee Dee) Pujols
wife of St. Louis Cardinals 1B, Albert Pujols

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Sweet Merciful Crap.

The Home Run Derby is going to be a lot of fun this year.  No matter who the American League throws out there.

Here are your National League 2009 Home Run Derby Contestants …

ALBERT PUJOLS – St Louis Cardinals, 1B
31 HR, 9.03 AB/HR, .336 AVG, 1.200 OPS, 82 RBI

After a first half of hemming and hawing about whther he’d participate in the Derby … St. Louis fans get their wish.  Pujols will play in his 3rd Home Run Derby.

Hometown jinx?  Don’t mention it to Pujols. 

In the 23 previous Home Run Derbies, only one hometown favorite has hoisted a trophy at the end of the night.  That was Ryne Sandberg back in 1990 (I was at that one – you can be happy for me).  Mind you, there’s only been 14 players to participate in a Home Run Derby in their home ballpark.

ADRIAN GONZALEZ - San Diego Padres, 1B
24 HR, 11.8 AB/HR, .261 AVG, .963 OPS, 51 RBI

Quietly having an awesome season for the floundering Padres. 

Don’t let those 24 Home Runs fool you – Gonzalez plays in the spacious Petco Park, where he’s only cranked out 8 Home Runs at clip of 18.1 AB/HR.  On the road, he’s a Pujolsesque 8.5 AB/HR with 16 Homers. 

Gonzalez is my pick from the NL to win the 2009 Home Run Derby.

PRINCE FIELDER - Milwaukee Brewers, 1B
22 HR, 13.2 AB/HR, .313 AVG, 1.056 OPS, 76 RBI

Fielder is the first second generation Home Run Derby contestant.  his father, Cecil Fielder competed back in the early 90’s.  He never won … which gives estranged son Prince some motivation to show up his dad. 

No word if Prince will show off his Brewers underwear if he wins the Derby.

Ryan Howard – Philadelphia Phillies, 1B
20 HR, 15.7 AB/HR, .252 AVG, .841 OPS, 61 RBI

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is getting some flack for putting Howard on the All-Star roster, but we’re glad he did.  Because Howard can now partake in the Derby.

Howard is the most accomplished NL player in the Derby, having won the Derby in 2006.

BE SURE TOCHECK 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!!  Details right here

When an MLB franchise selects a player with the #1 overall pick in the Amateur Draft, the team is expecting to have that player make a significant contribution to the team for years to come.

In unrelated news, earlier this season, the Padres released Matt Bush, the #1 Pick in the 2004 MLB Draft … before he ever played a game in the Major Leagues.  I hope no one actually bought a Matt Bush Padres Jersey.

Bush was a High School Shortstop from the San Diego Area who the Pads selected over the likes of Jered Weaver and Stephen Drew.   Bush’s career batting average in the minors is a robust .219 (in nothing higher than Class A ball) … so let’s just go and call him a bust.  The Padres have.

This got me to thinking … who else has flopped after being picked first in the MLB Draft? 

Brien Taylor, P – 1991 (New York Yankees)

Under advisement by Scott Boras, Taylor held out until the Yankees caved and gave him an unprecedented $1.55 Million signing bonus.  

Mind you, after his first two seasons in the minors … he looked like he might be worth it.  In Class A in 1992, he had 187 K’s in 161 innings and in 1993 went 13-7 with 150 K’s in AA Albany.

But in December 1993, he separated his shoulder and tore his labrum in a fight in a trailer park – does anything good ever happen in a trailer park?  Dr. Frank Jobe described the injury as one of the worst shoulder injuries he’d ever seen. 

Taylor never posted an ERA under 6 the rest of his minor league career and never sniffed the Majors.

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2009 isn’t expected to be a great season for the San Diego Padres.

• The Padres are coming off a last-place finish in the NL West (63-99)
• Baseball Prospectus predicts them to stay in the basement (74-88)
• They’ve been trying to trade their Ace Starting pitcher, 2007 Cy Young winner Jake Peavy
• Trevor Hoffman’s bobblehead is now with the Brewers 
• And Baseball America ranked the Padres’ farm system 29th … of 30 teams.

In fact, the Padres’ greatest cause for celebration during the 2009 season is their past.  More specifically, the Padres’ 40th anniversary as a ballclub … and the 25th anniversary of their 1984 National Peague Pennant. 

You remember 1984 (or maybe you don’t) - when the Padres came back from an two game deficit against the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS to win three straight  and go to their first World Series.

In fact, the Padres will be having a 1984 NL Champions Weekend the weekend of May 22-24.  There will be Fireworks on Friday, a NL Champs celebration game on Saturday (most likely with lots of players from the 1984 team on the field), and T-Shirt and Batting Helmet giveaways all weekend.  I’d also expect the Padres to wear throwback of their hideous 1984 kits (pictured above) for at least one of the games.

But that celebration will be a slap in the face of their opponents that weekend -

The Chicago Cubs. 

Ouch.  That’s just stone cold harsh.  I think it tops the guy who wrote “CUBS SUCK” in the snow in St Louis.

And somehow … I don’t think it’s a coincidence.  Do You?

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The Phillie Phanatic came back from an early deficit to slaughter Southpaw last week, so it’s time for another Mascot Matchup.

Let’s head to the Primate bracket, where we’ve got a transcontinental showdown between two last place teams with first-rate mascots. To make things more interesting … it’s a battle between Church and State.

#2 - Swinging Friar (San Diego Padres) vs #6 – Racing Presidents (Washington Nationals)

Your vote decides who moves on!!

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In the bottom of the eighth inning, Ryan Howard untied a 2-2 ballgame with one swing and the Phillies went on to beat the visiting San Diego Padres. 

The win put the Phillies in sole possession of first place in the NL East.

Around the League:

Brewers 4  Cubs 3

The “Kerry Wood as closer” experiment might be just about over for the Chicago Cubs. 

Wood blew a 3-1 ninth inning lead and his third save in seven opportunities and visiting Milwaukee beat the Cubs 4-3 – wasting another great start by Carlos Zambrano.  Wood now has an ERA of 18.00 against the Brewers in three games at Wrigley. 

You get the sense that it’s only a matter of time until Carlos Marmol is the closer for the Northsiders.

Rays 4  Orioles 2

They’re on the cusp of history in Tampa Bay … as the AL East-leading Rays beat the  Orioles and moved to four games over .500 for only the third time in their 10+ year history. 

The Rays have never been five games over .500.

Maybe there was something to dropping the Devil.

Tigers 8  Yankees 4

The Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the the Yankees in New York.

Don’t look now, but since the Tigers started 0-7, they’ve gone on a 14-8 run.  And they’re now in a three-way tie for second place in the AL Central, only 1 1/2 games behind the  Chicago White Sox. 

Sometimes, it takes a little extra time to get it right …

But for the Padres, this was getting ridiculous.  The Pads were 13 innings into their fourth extra-inning game so far this young season, and had very little to show for it. 

In their previous 22 1/3 extra innings this season, the Padres had scored exactly one run with zero wins to show for all that extra time.  2B tadahito Iguchi had been o for 6 with two walks in that stretch of extra frames.  

No more.

Iguchi ended San Diego’s extra inning futility with a Home Run to end it in the 13th.

In this crazy YouTube world we live in … you always need to remember to look for a camera before doing anything … shall we say … potentially embarrassing?

That goes double if you’re a professional baseball player. 

Triple if you’re a future first-ballot Hall of Famer like San Diego Padres pitcher Greg Maddux, who got caught in the dugout the other day … digging around.

And it wasn’t his nose.

I know there’s lots of crotch grabbing and adjusting in baseball (HRD did a big post with lots of pictures) … but there’s a line between adjusting and doing something else.   When your hands are down your pants … I think you’re crossing into “something else.”

And Maddux pitched the bottom half of that inning!  I hope he washed his hands.  Then again … maybe that’s why Maddux has such great control on the mound.

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So this past weekend, Major League Baseball went to China. 

In MLB’s continuing quest to conquer the world, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres played a pair of Spring Training games in Beijing, China.  They got to grade some players, eat some Chinese food, spread some baseball goodwill, and showcase China for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games.

But the Chinese Cheerleaders stole the show.

As you probably know, we here at Home Run Derby are big fans of Baseball Cheerleaders, and we find it to be our duty to “report” to you whenever we find baseball cheerleaders.  We’ve been doing it for nearly a year.

•  St. Louis Cardinals’ Team Fredbird 
• The Florida Marlins Mermaids
• Mexican Baseball Cheerleaders (Porristas)

So let’s keep doing it …

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