Imagine taking one of the most exciting parts of baseball—something not only dedicated baseball fans love, but something everyone agrees is exciting. Imagine creating something that distills a baseball game down to this one thing, this essence of baseball excitement. What is this universal crowd-pleaser?  It is, of course, the ultimate crack of the bat, the best of the “three true outcomes.” It is the home run!

Imagine watching eight of baseball’s best sluggers vying to see who can hit the most home runs. The only thing at stake: simply hitting the most homers and winning the trophy. This isn’t like the All-Star Game this evening where the winner determines home field advantage for the World Series in October. It is like the All-Star Game in being one of three events that pits the American League against the National League (the World Series, of course, is the third and most important).

For sheer unalloyed baseball fun, it’s hard to beat the Home Run Derby!

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