The Major League Baseball season returns in its entirety for their unofficial second half of the season on Friday, but before it does, lets look back at the All-Star break that was. And the stars that led the way over those two days really come to the surprise of no one.
First, the Home Run Derby on Monday night went to the home team star, Bryce Harper, in thrilling fashion. Getting pitched to by his father, Harper hit 19 home runs in the final round to beat out Kyle Schwarber of the Chicago Cubs. He is the first home team player to win the Home Run Derby since Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds won it at Great American Ballpark in 2015. Ryne Sandberg also did so as a member of the Chicago Cubs in 1990.
Harper was involved in his second Derby, after losing to New York Mets' slugger Yoenis Cespedes in 2013. Everyone else in the field was participating in their first competition. Schwarber seemed to have the upper-hand, with an 18-9 lead and under a minute left on the clock. Although, Harper would then rally to tie things up at 18 by the end of his four minutes, and thanks to a 473-foot blast, had the extra 30 seconds to go for the win. He hit the 19th homer out to centerfield, as the hometown crowd got loud, as if their team had just won the World Series.
The Nationals' slugger was the favorite coming in, thanks to his previous Home Run Derby outings before he made it to the majors. Although, there has been speculation that this year's Derby was rigged, as fans accused Harper of cheating during the competition. The video evidence people use show Harper taking the next pitch before the previous ball lands. Nothing has come of this, other than Schwarber claiming that he did not believe the competition was rigged.
The MLB All-Star Game continued to be the most competitive and entertaining All-Star Game in sports today. The game went in to extra innings, before the American League took their seventh straight from the National League, 8-6, on Tuesday night. It was a pair of the Houston Astros sluggers who led the way, as Alex Bregman and George Springer hit back-to-back jacks in the 10th off of Ross Stripling of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bregman went on to win the game's MVP award, as this contest set an All-Star record with 10 home runs. These two teams split the long balls at five-apiece but all of them on the National League side were solo homers, outside of Scooter Gennett's two-run shot that forced extras in the ninth.
Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, and Jean Segura also went deep, with Segura's three-run shot giving the A.L. the lead in the seventh. Joey Votto, Willson Contreras, Trevor Story, and Christian Yelich all went deep in a losing effort for the N.L. Before Tuesday night, there had not been more than six home runs in an All-Star Game since Babe Ruth hit the first one in 1933. Even though the home run numbers were up, the strikeouts numbers were as well, as the teams combined to strike out 25 times.
The combination of the home runs and strikeouts made for a beautiful pace that we are looking to work towards for the regular season.
First, the Home Run Derby on Monday night went to the home team star, Bryce Harper, in thrilling fashion. Getting pitched to by his father, Harper hit 19 home runs in the final round to beat out Kyle Schwarber of the Chicago Cubs. He is the first home team player to win the Home Run Derby since Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds won it at Great American Ballpark in 2015. Ryne Sandberg also did so as a member of the Chicago Cubs in 1990.
Harper was involved in his second Derby, after losing to New York Mets' slugger Yoenis Cespedes in 2013. Everyone else in the field was participating in their first competition. Schwarber seemed to have the upper-hand, with an 18-9 lead and under a minute left on the clock. Although, Harper would then rally to tie things up at 18 by the end of his four minutes, and thanks to a 473-foot blast, had the extra 30 seconds to go for the win. He hit the 19th homer out to centerfield, as the hometown crowd got loud, as if their team had just won the World Series.
The Nationals' slugger was the favorite coming in, thanks to his previous Home Run Derby outings before he made it to the majors. Although, there has been speculation that this year's Derby was rigged, as fans accused Harper of cheating during the competition. The video evidence people use show Harper taking the next pitch before the previous ball lands. Nothing has come of this, other than Schwarber claiming that he did not believe the competition was rigged.
The MLB All-Star Game continued to be the most competitive and entertaining All-Star Game in sports today. The game went in to extra innings, before the American League took their seventh straight from the National League, 8-6, on Tuesday night. It was a pair of the Houston Astros sluggers who led the way, as Alex Bregman and George Springer hit back-to-back jacks in the 10th off of Ross Stripling of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bregman went on to win the game's MVP award, as this contest set an All-Star record with 10 home runs. These two teams split the long balls at five-apiece but all of them on the National League side were solo homers, outside of Scooter Gennett's two-run shot that forced extras in the ninth.
Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, and Jean Segura also went deep, with Segura's three-run shot giving the A.L. the lead in the seventh. Joey Votto, Willson Contreras, Trevor Story, and Christian Yelich all went deep in a losing effort for the N.L. Before Tuesday night, there had not been more than six home runs in an All-Star Game since Babe Ruth hit the first one in 1933. Even though the home run numbers were up, the strikeouts numbers were as well, as the teams combined to strike out 25 times.
The combination of the home runs and strikeouts made for a beautiful pace that we are looking to work towards for the regular season.
