Todd Frazier out slugged Joc Pederson of the Dodgers at his home ballpark in Cincinnati 15-14 to win an improved Home Run Derby Monday night.
The first competitor to win the Derby at his home field since Ryne Sandberg in 1990, the Reds’ third baseman Frazier trailed Pederson by three with about a minute to go. Frazier was then able to tie Pederson with 10 seconds left in the final round before almost winning at the buzzar flying out to the warning track. Frazier however made the most of bonus time to nail down the win and send the hometown crowd home happy.
“Cincinnati we brought it home, baby. It’s about time,” Frazier said on the field after accepting the trophy.
Organizers on the night had to make some last-minute adjustments with the threat of rain in the area. Batters were given 4 minutes to hit as may home runs as they good in the new head-to-head format while gaining an extra 30 seconds if their home runs went over 425 feet.
The new format was definitely an easier watch and more exciting than the snoozers of the past. The head-to-head format is leaps an bounds a huge improvement over the team format from previous years as the time clock spares of from seeing a guy take pitch, after pitch, after pitch, after pitch, after pitch.
However, it’s still too long. Tonight the derby started at 8PM ET and went to almost 11PM ET. That’s two hours of a still glorified batting practice with Chris Berman still calling the play-by-play. Gross.
