Tonight, the best sluggers in baseball will face off in the 2011 State Farm Home Run Derby. David Ortiz, as the 2010 winner, had the privilege of choosing 3 hitters from the AL and 4 from the NL. Ortiz's choices were mostly understandable. First off was the easy choice, Toronto's Jose Bautista. Bautista has 31 homers heading into the break, easily the most in the majors. That one is the most understandable for me. Next, Adrian Gonzalez, whose 17 bombs are just 1 behind Ortiz for the Red Sox team lead. Fine. But the next one I just cannot understand. Robinson Cano, NYY. Just 15 homers heading into the break. I mean, if you're going to choose a Yankee, you might want to choose Curtis Granderson or Mark Teixeira, each of whom have 25 bombs, 10 more than Canoe. That's a bit strange.
On the NL side, two choices were fairly easy: Prince Fielder of the Brewers and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers each have 22 homers, second in the NL. That's fine, as they both have been crushing shots all year long. Next, Rickie Weeks of the Brewers, with 17. Okay, why not take Jay Bruce, who has 21, or Chicago's Carlos Pena with 19? Well, Weeks has been a fan favorite, and I think he is a great overall hitter, so maybe. But then there's Matt Holliday. Holliday has just 14 homers for the St. Louis Cardinals. Again, if you really want a member of that team, take the leader, who also happens to be the NL leader: Lance Berkman, with 24 long balls, again ten more than Holliday. The one way we can justify this choice is because Holliday's home runs have mostly come in clutch situations and walk-off chances, so he produces well.
Shown: Jose Bautista, top, and Prince Fielder, bottom.
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