{"id":2317,"date":"2016-06-13T11:30:14","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T15:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=2317"},"modified":"2019-06-26T16:50:58","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T20:50:58","slug":"what-would-a-pitcher-home-run-derby-actually-look-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=2317","title":{"rendered":"What Would a Pitcher Home Run Derby Actually Look Like?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photo Credit: Jose Luis Villegas\/The Sacramento Bee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, there has been much discussion in and around baseball about whether or not Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner should participate in this year’s Home Run Derby.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 It seems like a fun idea, but San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, along with many others, is concerned about the injury potential that comes with swinging the bat as hard as possible once every 15 seconds (as we saw in last year’s Derby<\/a>).<\/p>\n

That being said, it looks like Bumgarner’s participation in this year’s event is at least slightly possible; he told reporters that he would\u00a0“absolutely”<\/a>\u00a0want to take part if he was\u00a0invited to participate.<\/p>\n

I’ll say this right now: it’ll never happen. \u00a0There are too many people in the Giants organization telling him not to and the risk of injury is too present. \u00a0Both he and the Giants have too much to lose by doing this. \u00a0But the debate about Bumgarner got me to thinking: if we were to have a Home Run Derby with pitchers only, who would participate?<\/p>\n

I thought it an interesting question; after all, there’s a reason why #PitchersWhoRake<\/a> is a thing. \u00a0So I set out to find eight pitchers to fill my hypothetical, pitcher-only Derby.<\/p>\n

So let’s start with the obvious…<\/p>\n

Madison Bumgarner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duh. \u00a0This guy is the best-hitting pitcher in baseball; in fact, he leads all active pitchers in home runs…\u00a0and he’s only in his sixth full season.<\/em> \u00a0His home run rate is comparable to Mike Trout and Bryce Harper (no, seriously<\/a>) and he has the bona fide power needed to win a Home Run Derby.<\/p>\n

For instance, listen to this account of a recent batting practice exhibition in St. Louis, as told to ESPN’s Buster Olney and relayed by Sports Illustrated’s Jay Jaffe<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Prior to Sunday night’s ESPN-televised game between the Giants and Cardinals, Bumgarner put on a show in batting practice<\/a> at Busch Stadium, hitting more than a dozen homers, including two into the third deck and one into the uppermost fourth deck. A groundskeeper told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Mariners slugger Nelson Cruz is the only other player he can recall reaching such rarefied territory.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That would be\u00a0perfect\u00a0<\/em>for the Derby. \u00a0And Petco Park has become more hitter-neutral since its fences were pulled in three years ago<\/a>; this would give MadBum at least a fighting chance to get his share of dingers.<\/p>\n

And that’s exactly what all of us\u00a0would want to see.<\/p>\n

Noah Syndergaard<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here, our Derby gets a solid injection of THOOOOOOORRRRRRRR<\/a>…..<\/p>\n

In any event, Syndergaard hits like a poor man’s Bumgarner; while his strikeout rate is awfully high, he usually finds a way to hit the ball hard when he makes contact. \u00a0And when he’s not throwing 100 MPH heat behind people’s backs<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0at their faces<\/a>, he’s hitting impressive home runs to the deepest parts of the park\u00a0(three, to be exact). \u00a0In fact, all three of his home runs have approached 400 feet.<\/p>\n

While he\u00a0might struggle trying to hit home runs to center over a wall 400 feet from home plate, a more friendly right field gives him a legitimate chance to compete.<\/p>\n

So yeah, Syndergaard is a must for this event.<\/p>\n

Jake Arrieta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s another pitcher who seems to want in on the Home Run Derby fun. \u00a0This is what Arrieta had to say<\/a> after Saturday’s win over the Braves, his tenth of the season:<\/p>\n

If he’s in it, I need to be in it [….]\u00a0That’s for sure. He can hit the ball a long way, but I can too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Arrieta has impressive power to all fields; in a game last season against the Pirates, he hit a home run and a warning track fly at Wrigley. \u00a0His power has been majestic at times, and he would surely make the Derby more interesting.<\/p>\n

He’d also give it some name recognition; after all, he’s only one of the two best pitchers in baseball.<\/p>\n

Zack Greinke<\/strong><\/p>\n

A low-risk, potentially high-reward choice here. \u00a0Greinke has six career home runs, including two in the span of ten days last season with the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

There’s not a whole lot more to say about this; Greinke has been one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball for several years, so he should be a safe pick for the Derby.<\/p>\n

Adam Wainwright<\/strong><\/p>\n

And yet another pitcher seems to want a piece of the Home Run Derby pie. \u00a0This is what Wainwright tweeted in the wake of the news about Bumgarner and Wainwright:<\/p>\n

\n

Well, if Madbum and @JArrieta34<\/a> want in on this #homerunderby<\/a>…I might as well throw my name in the hat! #5:00hero #laser<\/a>-show<\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) June 12, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wainwright would be an excellent choice, with seven career home runs to his name. \u00a0And if he seems to want to do it, why should he be denied?<\/p>\n

Yovani Gallardo<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is another safe choice. \u00a0But it brings another layer to this debate: Gallardo has not pitched in the National League since\u00a0leaving the Brewers after the 2014 season. \u00a0He boasted tremendous power during this time, hitting 12 home runs and four in the 2010 season alone. \u00a0But how will he fare doing something that he hasn’t really done in almost two years?<\/p>\n

He should be able to do pretty well; let’s just hope he isn’t too rusty.<\/p>\n

Jose Fernandez<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don’t know about you, but I like my home runs with a little sauce. \u00a0This is what Fernandez did (and what ensued) when he hit his first career home run in 2013:<\/p>\n