Home Run Derby

So with a couple days left in July, we should probably update the Home Run Derby contest standings, huh?

Here goes (albeit quickly)

There’s three days left to determine the July monthly cash prize … and something called ZARG 4 leads everybody with 69 Home Runs in July.  He’s trailed by Jedi Baseball (67) and Brett Favre Comeback Tour (66 HR).

I had a hard time figuring out what the heck a “ZARG” was to make the appropriate avatar (and the team owner hasn’t responded to emails) so I took a stab at it as a Calvin and Hobbes reference.  If it’s not a made-up word, the only other thing I think it could be is a predator that was once on the old Babylon 5 TV show.

Two weeks into the Second Half, and it’s a 42-Homer tie between It’s a New Century and Jules.

That’s right … the Second Half is being co-led by my six-year-old daughter (she made her own picks).  That’s her running the bases at Miller Park a couple years ago. 

ZARG 4 (41 HR), Wrigley Drunks (41 HR), and ChiTown Kaz (40 HR) round out the 2nd Half leaderboard.

In the full season standings, the top three are still the same – but their order has changed.

Both David Wright can Bite Me (297 HR) and Heavy Hitters (295 HR) leapt past Aural Sects (294 HR) on the leaderboard. 

There’s an 8-HR cushion between the bottom of the leaderboard and the top of the also-rans.  One of these days, Coop Cooper, ChiTownKaz, BackBackBackBack, or RDRR are going to make a run at the leaders.

That might be the longest post title I’ve ever written at Home Run Derby.  But I’m not about to go back and check.

Anyway, the First Half of the season is complete.  Which means it’s time to dole out some cash.

Congratulations to DAVID WRIGHT CAN BITE ME!  DWCBM finished the season with 261 Home Runs.  He’ll be rewarded with $250 for his finish atop the standings.

Lesser props to Aural Sects (260 HR and $100) and The Heavy Hitters (259 HR and $50) who finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.  In the end, a mere two Home Runs separated 1st place from Third Place.

Going into the last day before the All-Star Break, it was pretty tight atop the leaderboard.  David Wright can Bite Me and Aural Sects both had 259 HR with Heavy Hitters a mere three dingers back at 256.  Anything could happen. 

But through 15 games on Sunday, the leaderboard hadn’t seen much action.  Only two balls had left the building for the top three.  One by Jim Thome for Heavy Hitters and one by Nelson Cruz for Aural Sects and nada for DWCBM.  Which meant that heading into the Sunday Night showdown betweeb the Cubs and Cardinals … Aural Sects had the lead, 260-259 over DWCBM.  Heavy Hitters was at 257 with no chance of catching DWCBM.

Both teams had Albert Pujols.  Only Aramis Ramirez or Ryan Ludwick could save the day for David Wright can Bite Me.  And damned if he didn’t do it with two Home Runs against the Cubs.  One HR would have been sufficient, since DWCBM held the AB/HR tiebreaker … but Ludwick erased any doubt of who the 2009 1st Half Champion was …. David Wright Can Bite Me.

This first half will be pretty sweet for Nick the Greek, who’s watched the real David Wright become a non-force in the Derby (only 5 HR) – but even morseo when he finds out who the owner of Aural Sects is. 

It’s about time one of the original members of this fair Home Run Derby contest made it back on the wall of the HRD Hall of Fame.  Even better that it was two of them.

Mind you, it was the lowest total for a 1st Half Champion since 2004.

DWCBM will look to be complete the first HRD Sweep in four years.  But it won’t be easy … as the past three years, the First Half Champ has not won either the Second Half or Full Season Crown.

Everyone in the Derby has a shot at the Second Half Crown, as we start at zero.  Plus, there’s three monthly prizes to compete for as well.

Everyone has a chance to win something.  Keep paying attention … and thanks for playing!

Welcome to Home Run Derby !!

Many of homerderby.com’s regular readers know that we run a fabulous season-long Home Run Derby contest (now in our sixth year). 

This season, we’re going to offer a new game just for 2009 MLB Home Run Derby which takes place on Monday, July 13, 2009.

It’s similar to an NCAA Bracket contest.  Out of the eight players in the MLB Home Run Derby, you pick which players move on in each round of the Derby.  From the First Round to the Champion. 

We’ve got a Grand Prize of $250 to the person who can put together a team that scores the most Home Runs in this contest.  And there’s no entry fee. 

Wait … what?  A FREE Contest?  Where do I sign up?  Read the rules below and then use the ONLINE ENTRY FORM.

 2009 HOME RUN DERBY CONTEST OFFICIAL RULES

CONTEST ENTRY FEE –
None.  This is a free contest.

CONTEST PRIZE -
$250 to a single winner

CONTEST ENTRY DEADLINE –
Monday July 13, 2009 at 6:00PM Eastern Time (No Exceptions)

ONLINE ENTRY FORM

CONTEST THEME –
There are eight players who will participate in the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby.
Predict which players will advance in the tournament and you could win!!

CONTEST RULES -
Predict the players who will advance in the 2009 Home Run Derby.

• First, Select the Four Players in the first round (from the eight players in the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby) who you think will advance to the second round of the MLB Home Run Derby .  You will receive one point for each Home Run those players hit in the first round of the MLB Home Run Derby. 
• Second, Select the Two Players in the second round (from the four players previously selected in the first round) who you think will advance to the Final Round of the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby.  You will receive one point for each Home Run those players hit in the Second Round of the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby.
• Next, Select One Player (from the two players previously selected in the second round) who you think will advance to win the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby.  You will receive one point for each Home Run that player hits in the Final Round of the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby.

The Entry with the Most Points wins.  If there is a tie between two or more Entries, then Tiebreakers will be used to determine a single winner.

• Tiebreaker #1 – Guess how many total Home Runs will be hit by the 2009 Home Run Derby Champion.  Closest entry wins the tiebreaker.  Closest entry to the total number of Home Runs hit by the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby Champion wins the tiebreaker.
• Tiebreaker #2 – Guess how many total Home Runs will be hit in the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby.  Closest entry to the total number of Home Runs hit in the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby wins the tiebreaker.
• Any ties remaining after the two tiebreakers will split the Prize equally.

If you select a player in a later round that was not selected in the prior round, your entry will be deemed illegal and immediately disqualified.

Example:  If you select Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, and Albert Pujols in the First Round, your entry will be disqualified if you pick Jason Bay in the Second Round or the Final. 

Tiebreakers must be submitted at the time of entry.  If tiebreaker selections are left blank on the entry form, that entry will be disqualified from any tiebreaker.  ONLINE ENTRY FORM

Deadline for entries is Monday, July 13, 2009 at 6PM Eastern time.

You’ll have a blast whether you win or not.

Standings are updated.

Congratulations to our June winner  …

FLASH CARDS (77 HR)

Last night, Flash Cards scored 7 HR and literally came out of nowhere to knock Komodos (74 HR) off the top of the June leaderboard.   And take the $50 prize.

For almost all of  June, a certain lizard sat atop the monthly standings in out fair Home Run Derby contest.  But the Komodos learned the hard way that it’s only that last day that matters. 

Going into last night’s action, the Komodos had 72 Home Runs and a 2-HR lead over Flash Cards, RDRR, and Fletch.  The problem was that those three teams all had Albert Pujols and his two home runs … and Komodos didn’t.

RDRR finished second in June with 76 HR.  More on him later.

At the end of June … your First Half Leaderboard looks a lot like it did the rest of the month.

Seriously. 

Will someone knock these three off the leaderboard?  There are twelve days left in the First Half for someone to rise up and show some nards and win this thing.

Anyway, David Wright can Bite Me leads with 242 HR.  he’s followed by Aural Sects with 24 HR and Heavy Hitters with 239 HR.

And now we head into July … and guess who’s coming back? 

That’s right.  Manny.  And he’ll have the hopes and dreams of nearly 90 Derby teams on his back.  Not to mention the weight of that 50-game suspension monkey. 

Suddenly, thre are a lot of teams who will have a shot at the July monthly prize and the 2nd half Prize.  And a few teams who have done pretty well without Manny … and could be considered favorites to crash the leaderboard in the near future. 

The best team with Manny?  Gotta be ChiTownKaz ?  Tied for 8th Place overall right now with 226 HR.  And he’s getting Manny back.

Remember RDRR?  He’s in a 10th place tie with 225 HR.  Just missed out on the July prize by one Home Run.  And he did it with 14 players.

Standings are updated.

We’ve got a tie at the top of the 1st Half leaderboard with 205 HR. 

Aural Sects and David Wright can Bite Me share the top spot.  They’re followed by the Heavy Hitters with 202 HR, BackBackBackBack and Sir Isaac Lime II with 201 HR, and Eat My Kosuke Fukudome Hot Dog with 200 HR.

And that ends the list of teams with two spins. 

On to June …

The June Swoon hasn’t affected four teams who all have a piece of the monthly lead. 

Eat My Kosuke Fukudome Hot Dog, It’s a New Century, Komodos and Fiesta all have 39 HR in June. 

Jason Kubel’s been the man for Fiesta.  That will end.

Standings have been updated

Holy Schneikes!!

The Home Run Derby contest leaderboard is hoppin’ right now … with a three way tie for first.

 David Wright can Bite Me, Aural Sects, and Heavy Hitters top all Derby competitors with 196 Home Runs apiece. 

Heavy Hitters and Aural Sects were the respective winners of the April and May Monthly Prizes, with DWCBM just missing out on the May Prize. 

I’m starting to think these three teams will be in the hunt all season long.  And that the REAL David Wright will find a way to bite David Wright Can Bite me.

Looking at the June leaderboard … it’s a familiar, if not lucky, face leading the pack. 

The Komodos (who belong to HRD’s own webmaster extraordinaire) have 33 Home Runs in June. 

He’s followed by It’s a New Century (32 HR) and Fiesta (31 HR). 

Here’s an interesting tidbit – on the Overall Leaderboard, Fiesta is in last place with a pathetic 134 HR.  But there he is competing in June.  Fiesta’s good showing is reason why you should always check the standings.

Standings are updated.

April was a bit of a cheap month to win (it wasn’t even 4 weeks long), so May marks our first REAL monthly prize.  And that $50 prize goes to …

AURAL SECTS (102 HR in May)

Our first team named after something that sounds dirty (but really isn’t) came from behind over the final weekend of May to claim the top spot. 

Going into Sunday’s action, Aural Sects was tied with David Wright Can Bite Me with 97 HR.  DWCBM’s Friday prediction that Wright would kill him didn’t occur, as he had the game off yesterday.

But three Sunday Home Runs from Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis provided the cushion over DWCBM, who finished the month with 99 HR.  Nice show, but not good enough.

Let’s check out the First Half Leaderboard …

Despite his bat-licking choke over the weekend, David Wright Can Bite Me still leads all comers with 175 Home Runs through two months.  But that lead could be short-lived.

I bet if you ask Nick the Greek about his Derby chances right now, I’d guess he’d tell you he has a better shot at losing 20 pounds over the next few weeks.

Second Place Sir Isaac Lime II (174 HR) continues to stay on the leaderboard, and could ready to weasel the top spot back from David Wright Can Bite Me sometime this week. 

I love that silly green otter astronomer over there. 

Too bad it’s not my team.

Third place belongs to Aural Sects (170 HR) 

His prize-winning performance during th month of May now has him in contention for an even bigger prize.

Standings have been updated

We’re only three days away from handing out another Monthly Prize in our little Home Run Derby Contest … and DAVID WRIGHT CAN BITE ME is still atop the leaderboard for May with 91 HR. 

He’s got some real competition for the cash, however, as both AURAL SECTS and GOON MASHERS have 89 HR each. 

It could be fun to watch the race for the May prize – so we’ll be updating the standings page daily this weekend.

Our orally fixated David Wright hater also leads the 1st Half with 167 HR, followed closely by SIR ISAAC LIME II (165 HR) and HEAVY HITTERS (158 HR).

Standings have been updated

David Wright Can Bite Me tops both the leaderboards for the First Half (149 HR)  and May ( 73). 

But he’s got company for the May prize, as Dance Hall Crashers, PointBlank and Ryan Howard Ate My Baby also all have 73 HR.  Nine more days to go.

Sir Isaac Lime II (148 HR) and Demolition Crew (146 HR) round out the 1st Half Leaderboard.

For those of you new to the Derby, the owner of David Wright Can Bite Me harbors a grudge against Wright because Wright’s home run power disappeared at the end of 2006 and cost him (then named Derek Jeter’s Gold Glove) a shot at the 2006 HRD Full Season Championship.