We shouldve felt what Cincinnati and Todd Frazier just felt. The atmosphere was amazing even on tv as I watched from my recliner. Lance shouldve won in 2004. Too bad steroids and that double-play-hitting-into guy did that we gave up way too much for did. Really wouldve been great for Puma to have been that hometown hero that night. Format was awesome. Home Run Derby is back to being super exciting. Big win for all baseball fans.
Even though Tejada ended up being a last ditch effort... I don't think the Astros really gave up anybody that panned out. Troy Patton was the only one at the time I was pretty upset about.
Agreed that nobody panned out but couldve been used in other trade(s). They were still pretty highly regarded and poopura gave them up for a has-been. That move was the start and the proverbial straw that broke the camels back for our franchise.
Yeah, they did great changing the rules. No coincidence that great change coincided with adding replay this year. Baseball is really attempting to get with the times after being so traditional over the years. Would've been great if Correa somehow snuck into the ASG, but it was a longshot. _____ Berkman's winning would've been nice, but it was gimmicky the way he batted right-handed. Sure it's an easier HR to LF, but he was a much, much better hitter as a lefty. Wasn't as if he solely batting right-handed for home games. Regardless, would've been nice if he'd won though. When is MM's next ASG? We'll definitely have some candidates for the foreseeable future.
He crushed those balls... nothing "gimmicky" about any of his HR's. He actually ended up with respectable OPS numbers from the right side... certainly his "weaker" side, but he wasn't totally inept. (I'd much rather have right-handed batting Lance manning 1B for the current team).
gimmicky? The guy is a switch hitter. I'm fairly certain he can hit any way he wants to. Silly to call that a gimmick. It's not like the other guy wasn't able to use the same field. On top of that, I think his lefty swing was better for line drives and righty better to get the ball in the air more often if I'm remembering right. Maybe someone else can back me up on that.
Pretty sure any player they would have acquired in "other" trades would have been a preverbial "has been". As it was, Tejada was only 31 and still was an all-star for those two years (hell, one hit shy of 200 hits in 2009). And in the end, they should have been "rebuilding" instead of "chasing it"... but not drafting well for awhile (including the later Hunsicker years) catches up to a team regardless of what other deals are or are not made.
Right-handed swing featured a ton of top-spin... which does help elevate some line drives to get out. He was just a great overall hitter... who happened to often hit the ball well enough for them to be HR's. Hell, I think overall MMP favors lefties more anyways (Lance mastered flipping the away pitch into the crawford boxes).... had he done that in the derby (by having the pitcher throw nothing but low-away stuff with him batting left-handed), I guess that could be considered as a "gimmick" (but still would have taken a tremendous amount of coordination/skill.)
Even if Lance didn't win in 04, he was the star of that Derby, just like Hamilton was at Yankee stadium the year Morneau won it. Before this new format (which is great by the way), it was more about who put on the best show. Lance and MMP did a great job as hosts that year, Lance going righty, MMP opening the roof between rounds, that was a great All Star Weekend all around.
