here's a good article from covers
here's a good article from covers
Between The Lines
Monday, July 08, 2002
Sosa & Bonds enter HR Derby as veterans
By Trevor Stewart
Sammy, Barry, and the rest
For the last few years Slammin' Sammy Sosa of the Chicago
Cubs and reigning home run king, Barry Bonds, have ruled the
top of the home run charts.
Tonight, the two sluggers will be the veterans of the All-Star
break's long-ball competition.
This year's addition of the Derby will be Sosa's fourth straight
competition and fifth overall. Slammin' Sammy lost 6-2 in last
year's final to Luis Gonzalez. And in 2000's Derby, Sosa hit a
record 26 home runs in three rounds to win title.
The outfielder is second in the Majors this season with 28 home runs.
Bonds, the current record holder for home runs in a season, will also be competing in his fifth
derby. Bonds won 1996's Home Run Derby with 17 dingers. The hard-hitting leftfielder has
been good for 26 round-trips thus far in 2002.
Here's how the other hard hitters shape up:
Texas Rangers shortstup Alex Rodriguez enters his third Home Run Derby with 26 homers
under his belt this season. In last year's competition, 'A-Rod' hit only two long balls and was
eliminated in the first round. He was also ousted early in the first round in 1998 after
blasting five.
Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers comes into his second competition with 26 big
flies. In 1999's Derby, he went yard only twice.
New York Yankees Jason Giambi is also in his second event with 22 dingers so far this
year. Despite being knocked out in last year's second round, Giambi put on the most powerful
display of the event, belting 14 home run blasts in the first round.
Lance Berkman should come in as the odds-on favourite of rookie competitors, as he leads
the 'Bigs' with 29 home runs during the pre-All-Star break campaign.
Chicago White Sox Paul Konerko and Minnesota Twins Torii Hunter both enter their first
Home Run Derby having launched 20 long balls this year.
It's not "E-Z" to win as a rookie
Looking through the last 10 years of this event -- dating back to and including 1992 -- here are
some trends:
In 10 Derbies, only three rookie competitors have won the crown. And their names all
ended with -ez -- Juan Gonzalez in 1993, Tino Martinez in 1997, and Luis Gonzalez in
2001.
On five of the 10 occasions, the winner had competed the year prior to their Derby
victory.
Since 1995, when the three-round Derby was introduced, the average total number of
home runs hit is 62.1. The most ever hit was 83 in 1998. And in 1996, competitors
cranked an event-low 51.
Last year 66 were hit, which ranks as the second-highest total. And in each of 1999
and 2000, the competitors went yard 62 times.
Between 1995 and 1999, the winning slugger knocked out only three homers in the
final round in each of the five years. In 2000, Sosa hit nine and Gonzalez hit six in
2001.
Griffey is the only player in the last 10 years to win more than once. He did in three
times ('94, '98, and '99).
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Here's a link to view past results of HR Derby
http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/NA...adline.jsp?story_page=allstar_hrderby_history
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the Rules
Century 21 Home Run Derby rules
Following are the rules for the 2002 Century 21 Home Run Derby, which will take place at 7:00 p.m. (CDT) on Monday, July 8 as part of Clarinex All-Star Workout Day at Miller Park.
Participants:
Eight players: four from the American League, four from the National League.
Selected by, and invited by, Major League Baseball.
Round One:
Each player gets 10 outs per at bat to hit as many home run as possible.
Round Two (Semi-Finals):
The four players with the most home runs in the first round ?C regardless of League affiliation ?C advance to the semi-finals.
Home runs do not carry over to next round: first-round totals are cleared from the board
Each player gets 10 outs to hit as many home runs as possible per at bat.
Players will be seeded 1 through 4, based upon HR total in first round (1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3)
First semi-final: 2-seed vs. 3-seed
Second semi-final: 1-seed vs. 4-seed
The Championship Round:
The two winners from the semi-finals advance to Championship.
Each player gets 10 outs to hit as many home run as possible per at bat.
The player with the most home runs in the championship round is declared the winner.
Rules:
An out is registered when a player swings at a pitch and does not hit a home run.
A ball hit over the fence must be fair to count as a home run.
