Home Run Derby

SO on a day where I have what feels like a terminal stomach virus, I have one bit of good news to share with you all. 

Sometime yesterday, Home Run Derby hit 100,000 Unique Visitors during the month of February … February ALONE.  It’s probably nothing compared to some of the big boys (I bet Deadspin gets 100,000 visitors in an hour.

But, HOLY COW!  If you had asked me just over a year ago when I started this website if we’d hit 100,000 Unique Visitors … I would have told you yeah, by 2008 … and I would have meant cumulatively.  Then something funny happened.  People started reading what we were writing.  I’m still kinda in awe that anyone even finds this site.  I want to thank some people for helping make that happen …

• Will Leitch at the incomparable Deadspin
• Jimmy Traina at Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard
• Matt Ufford over at With Leather
• David Pinto at Baseball Musings
• Rob Neyer at ESPN.com
• Brooks at Sports by Brooks
• Jesse Pugh over at the fabulous Bugs and Cranks
• Jason and Erin at BallHype
• Yardbarker.com
• Scrap at Epic Carnival and On205th and the old OBOS
• Dex at GasLampBall and the potty mouths at Drunk Jays Fans
• And a whole slew that I just don’t have room for.

A HUGE thanks goes to my wife, who has suffered countless nights of me on the computer typing away at something completely trivial.  Thanks go to Paulke (my tech guy), Nick the Greek, Devine, and The Franchise for either participating or telling me I could do this. 

I’d also like to thank all of you who have stopped by and checked out our work and left comments.  We love comments, because it’s more fun if YOU are involved.

We have some fabulous stuff lined up in the coming weeks and months …

• Our collaboration with Sky to do 30 Team Previews in 30 Days
• The 2008 Home Run Derby Contest will go live next week.  It’ll be tougher.
• A couple more cash prize contests - One for Cub fans and a new monthly one.
• The return of MLB Mascot Brackets
• A project I’ve been working on for a year.
• Whatever else happens

Thanks for being a part of Home Run Derby.

Rich

I was wondering why there had been no comments at HRD in a while.

Stupid anti-spam plugin.

Anyway, you can have at it in comments again. 
Flame away.

And yes, Virginia, there will be a 2008 Home Run Derby Contest. 

It was Alyssa Milano’s 35th Birthday yesterday!

And Home Run Derby’s present to Alysa was a First Round Win in Busted Coverage’s Best Sports Blog Tournament !!

Alyssa’s going to celebrate Home Run Derby’s first round victory (408-287) by getting a little bit closer to wearing her birthday suit …

… just as we promised …

(more…)

Well, the fine upstanding blog Busted Coverage has gone out and put together a 2007 Best Sports Blog Tournament with what they consider to be the top 64 Sports Blogs.

It’s no surprise that FanHouse, Deadspin, Awful Announcing, and The Big Lead are your top seeds. These guys bring it every day. They deserve the honors.

Now, for some reason (namely a decent BallHype rating) Home Run Derby has been included in this tournament. HRD is the #8 seed in the West Region, versus the blog known as You Been Blinded.

We are humbled.
We are honored.
We want to win.

So in a shameless beg for your vote … we’re gonna give this a go …
“Major League” style.

Remember in the movie “Major League” when the Cleveland Indians’ manager (Lou Brown) brought out the cardboard cutout of the owner (Rachel Phelps) and said “every time we win, we pull off a section” ?

Well, for every win Home Run Derby gets in the 2007 Best Sports Blog Tournament …

(more…)

Home Run Derby was ranked 22nd on Juiced Sports’ list of the Most Influential Sports Bloggers.  Does that mean people actually read this site?

All jokes aside, you should click that link and read that list.  I can’t argue with the top ten and it’s a great list from top to bottom.

I’d have thought that HRD should have been ranked much lower and I’m truly flattered to be listed in the top 25.

Thanks to everyone who’s ever stopped by HRD.  Thanks for reading.

Rich

The Home Run Derby contest standings have been updated.  The Home Run Derby Sweep is no longer in effect for first half champion Triple Crown.

Second Half

• 1st Place:   93 HR - Hackers
• 2nd Place: 88 HR - Empire of Dirt
• 3rd Place:  88 HR - The Great Hambino

Full Season

• 1st Place:   355 HR - Master Batters
• 2nd Place: 355 HR - Triple Crown
• 3rd Place:  351 HR - Hackers

Also, Home Run Derby would like to welcome a new writer to the fold.  Rob St. Huggins is on board.  You’ll recognize Robby as a frequent commenter on the site. 

Of course, that means HRD’s regular non-family readership has been cut in half. 

So the other day, Doug from Our Book of Scrap e-mailed me and said some nice words about Home Run Derby and how he’d give me a … oh wait, wrong conversation.

What he did was invite me to be a part of a gigantic SuperBlog called Epic Carnival.  I’d join the ranks of such blogs like Deuce of Davenport, Sons of Sam Malone, Babes Love Baseball, and 20-some odd other blogs I actually read that hadn’t been eaten up by The Fanhouse yet. 

And of course, I said yes.  I intend to publish original work at both Epic Carnival and Home Run Derby.

You can check out my first submission to The Funhouse that is Epic Carnival today. 

Go figure it’s about Barry Bonds. 

Specifically how he hasn’t shown up on ESPN for a game yet this season.

If there’s anything we love at HRD, it’s Home Runs.

And Beer. And Mascots. And Hecklers. And more Beer.

And the Blog Show.

Especially when Home Run Derby makes the Blog Show. I love that Ding. But what do we do with our third set of wings?

As usual, watch the whole thing and see what you missed this week, but The Racing Sausage Rip-Offs get a mention at 6:15 into the show.

Big shouts to Jamie (Mr. Irrelevant), Littles (The Dude Abides), and Dan (DC Sports Bog) and the Washington Post for putting us on the Blog Show talking picture box machine and a big thanks to BallHype, The Feed, Sons of Sam Malone, Bugs and Cranks, Deuce of Davenport, Deadspin, Diamond Hoggers, and our foulmouthed pals at Drunk Jays Fans for linking to the Sausages last week.

We’ve had two Blog Show Dings which means … two Blog Show Wings.  So can we fly now?

Be sure to watch the whole thing, but Home Run Derby is featured about 2 minutes and 45 seconds into this week’s Blog Show for the Great Beards of Baseball …

Bip props to Jamie (Mr. Irrelevant), Littles (The Dude Abides), and Dan (DC Sports Bog) and the Washington Post TV thing for putting us on the Blog Show and a big thanks to BallHype, Babes Love Baseball, Fear the Beard, Empty the Bench, Brogna Blog, St. Louis Sports Magazine, and our buds at Drunk Jays Fans for linking to the Beards week.