Why let the power hitters have all the fun?
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Which of these skills competitions would you like to see?
In today’s SI:AM:
⚾ The skills contests MLB All-Stars want to see
The most popular hot dog in baseball
The entertainment mogul who brought Joe Namath to New York
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Why let the power hitters have all the fun?
The Home Run Derby is quickly becoming the premier event of MLB’s All-Star festivities. It’s an action-packed celebration of the sport’s most exciting play featuring the best young players in the game (and also a legend in Albert Pujols). It’s three hours of guys punishing baseballs in a made-for-TV event. It’s hard to think of a more perfect viewing experience for casual baseball fans (although I do have one complaint about the broadcast).
Part of the Derby’s appeal is that it takes the complex game of baseball and reduces it to one skill: smacking the crap out of the ball. Fans get to see just how much power the 42-year-old Pujols still has and what would happen if Juan Soto actually got to see pitches in the strike zone.
But baseball’s complexity also means that there are plenty of other skills worth highlighting. During media availability at Dodger Stadium yesterday, Nick Selbe asked a bunch of All-Stars which skills competitions they’d like to see in the future. Here are my five favorite proposals, ranked:
5. Sprint speed contest for pitchers
This immediately made me think of former NFL punter Brian Moorman’s Madden speed rating. (He was a Division-II All-American sprinter.) Which baseball players who we don’t get to see run all-out are secret speed demons?
“I think I’m the fastest pitcher, for sure,” said Brewers relief pitcher Devin Williams. “I don’t think anyone’s beating me. [Ryan] Helsley looks like he might be able to move a little bit, though.”
4. Around the horn
This was Yankees catcher Jose Trevino’s idea. I wasn’t convinced at first, but the more I think about it the more it appeals to me. I like the idea of teams working together to shave fractions of seconds off of their times. It also has practical implications, since it’s like trying to turn a 5-4-3 double play.
3. Long toss
White Sox closer Liam Hendriks proposed this one, saying it reminded him of when he was a kid on the schoolyard in Australia competing to see who could throw a ball the farthest. I like it because it could be open to pitchers and outfielders, maybe even with a pitchers bracket and an outfielders bracket where the finalists square off in a championship round. The only downside I see is the risk of injury.
2. Home run derby for pitchers
Pitchers may not get to hit in games anymore but we know at least some of them are still talented at the plate. So why not let them showcase their skills in a warmup Derby before the main event?
1. Opposite-handed throwing
Giants pitcher Carlos Rodón came up with this one. Rodón wants it to be a distance-based contest, rather than accuracy. It’s so goofy and useless that it’s absolutely perfect.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Brett R. Henry/Alamy Stock Photo
In today’s Daily Cover, Emma Baccellieri tries to figure out why the Dodger Dog is so much more popular than any other baseball hot dog:
The hot dog was already synonymous with baseball by the time the Dodgers moved west to L.A. The two had enjoyed twin increases in popularity as the 19th century turned to the 20th: Baseball stepped into its role as the national pastime as it became professionalized, and the sport found its perfect match in hot dogs, which had already been growing common at fairs and as street food. The hot dog represented everything a turn-of-the-century American could want.
Juan Soto’s Home Run Derby win was even more impressive given how the uncertainty surrounding his future with the Nationals has reached a boiling point this week, Stephanie Apstein writes. … Howard Beck evaluates whether the Knicks actually have enough to trade for Donovan Mitchell. … These are the second-year players who impressed Michael Shapiro the most at NBA Summer League. … Avi Creditor breaks down the USWNT’s Concacaf W Championship win over Canada.
Around the sports world
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook have reportedly agreed to stay together with the Lakers. … Golf analyst David Feherty is reportedly leaving NBC Sports to join LIV Golf. … Texas Tech boosters are reportedly set to give five-figure NIL deals to 100 football players. … Deshaun Watson’s suspension is likely to be between two and eight games, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports.
The top five...
… non-Derby things I saw yesterday/this morning:
5. This old clip of Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless reviewing The Dark Knight.
4. A cameraman getting in the way of a race at the world track championships.
3. Alex Morgan following Cameron Smith’s lead and filling a trophy with margaritas. (Although I’ve never seen a margarita that color. It looks like Gatorade.)
2. The Panthers’ new black alternate helmets.
1. 42-year-old Jamal Crawford putting on a show at his own pro-am league, the Crawsover.
SIQ
At 59, Tom Watson very nearly won the Open Championship on this day in 2009 but lost in a playoff to which man?
Yesterday’s SIQ: Before Babe Ruth, how many home runs did baseball’s all-time leader hit?
Answer: 138. The record was held by Roger Connor, who surpassed Harry Stovey’s 122 in 1895 and held the record for 23 years after his retirement in ’97.
I’d never heard of Connor before looking this up, but he definitely should be a lot more famous. He began his career with the Troy Trojans before moving south in 1883 to join the team that played at the Polo Grounds. The team was known at that time as the New York Gothams, but they soon had a new nickname—thanks to Connor. In ’85, he won the NL batting crown and the Gothams, led by the 6'3", 220-pound Connor, became known as the Giants, after their star player’s imposing stature.
From the Vault: July 19, 1965
James Drake/Sports Illustrated
Long before he became known as “Broadway Joe,” Joe Namath appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated under the bright lights of Times Square ahead of his rookie season with the Jets. The setting was a nod to Jets owner Sonny Werblin’s background as a powerful entertainment agent and his desire to recruit the same sort of stars for his football team that he had for the Music Corporation of America.
Werblin was known as the “world’s greatest agent” and represented some of the biggest names in show biz at the time. Robert H. Boyle’s cover story lists 37 performers whom Werblin personally represented, including Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Jack Benny and Alfred Hitchcock.
In the 1965 AFL draft, Werblin went for star power. With the No. 1 pick, he took Namath, the quarterback for Alabama, defending national champions. With the Jets’ next pick, he took Notre Dame’s Heisman-winning quarterback John Huarte. They headlined a class of 28 rookies whom Werblin spent a total of $1.1 million to sign—“the most money ever committed for new talent in one year by any pro football team,” Boyle wrote.
Huarte didn’t develop into a professional star—the Jets traded him to the Patriots a year later and he threw just 48 passes in seven AFL/NFL seasons—but Namath was just the kind of flashy player Werblin was looking for. Unfortunately for Werblin, he was pushed aside and had his share in the Jets bought out by other investors right before Namath led them to a Super Bowl victory following the 1968 season.
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