The Home Run Derby started in 1985 as a small sideshow that was hard to take seriously. Dave Parker won the first contest by hitting a grand total of 6 long balls. It was a slightly more glorified batting practice. Like some of the balls hit, the Derby has gone a long way. Now, the Derby is nearly as anticipated as the All Star game itself. Once a year the biggest sluggers step to the plate with one goal in mind: annihilate as many baseballs as possible. If chicks dig the long ball, these 5 guys must have received plenty of attention from the lady folk.
5. Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds @ Veterans Stadium 1996:
Until 1996, the Derby was never much of an event.
That changed forever when baseball's two larger than life sluggers participated in what is probably the greatest Derby Duel ever. Bonds and McGwire put on a slammin show, a display of demolish for the packed crowd at the Vet. Bonds ended up winning by a count of 17 to 15, but the highlight of the night happened when Big Mac sent a shot into the previously unreached 600 level of the Vet ballpark. This was the true beginning of the Home Run Derby we know today. When McGwire was asked last time he had hit a ball that far, he responded by saying in Spring Training.... with his new titanium driver.
4. Mark McGwire @ Fenway '1999
What Bonds and McGwire started in '96, McGwire continued in 1999.
Bonds as McGwire dueled it out for the title previously, but during this derby there was only one matchup fans wanted to see: McGwire vs. The Green Monster. Big Mac wasted no time showing us who would win this lop-sided battle. The Cardinals slugger belted 13 home runs out of Fenway in the first round, at that time a record. The greatest slugger in baseball left the crowd in awe with monstrous blasts over the outmatched monster in left field. As with most great derby performances, McGwire had one truly mammoth mash that topped all others. This year's edition came when McGwire belted one over the monster, over the parking lot, and nearly reached the Massachusetts Turnpike some 500 feet away. Even though McGwire actually ended up "losing" the final tally, everyone knew who truly won the derby in 1999.
3. Sammy Sosa @Miller Park '02
The winner of the Home Run Derby is decided by simply counting the number of home runs hit.
But some derbys are better judged by other numbers. Sammy Sosa gave us a few numbers in 2002 which show why he was clearly the star of the show. How about 477, that's the average number of feet Sosa's righteous blasts traveled. Or 7, that's the number of "oh-no-you-didn't" 500 foot bombs Sosa hit... In the first round! Sosa terrorized fans which previously thought no baseball could ever reasonably come close to hitting them, including spectators that didn't even have a ticket. Slammin Sammy, not Elvis, left the building that night, when one of his preposterous round trippers actually flew out of Miller Park. Like McGwire's 1999 performance, Sosa actually "lost" the derby, but won for all meaningful purposes. The guy who "won," Jason Giambi, even couldn't stop talking about Sosa. When asked about Sammy's performance, Giambi replied "I don't think anything can hold him, except Yellowstone."
2. Bobby Abreu @ Comerica Park '05 - 41 total
McGwire and Sosa used, well distance, to distance their performances from others.
While everyone loves to see how far the big hitters can crush them, Bobby Abreu showed us that quantity sometimes rules over quality. Not to take anything away from Abreu's quality, Abreu reached the 500 club several times. But what was truly unbelievable about Abreu's performance was that he just kept going. In total, Abreu annihilated FORTY-ONE(!) baseballs that night. 41! 24 of his record number of bombs came in the first round, which at that time obliterated the record books. Unlike some of the previous great performers, Abreu didn't slow down. He knocked out 17 more bombs of the next two rounds. Abreu will never be known as a great home run hitter, but his total of 41 round trippers is a home run derby performance that will never be forgotten.
1. Josh Hamilton @ Yankee Stadium '08 -28 in 1 round
As ridiculous as the previous four performances where, Josh Hamilton's '08 performance topped them all, by a mile. Hamilton put on a truly unimaginable show. Everything fell into place for the once drug-addict turned all star. Hamilton's most jaw dropping blast, his most prodigious pulverization came when he belted one deep into left field, right between the tiny gap, and up to the Q train. Hamilton's performance was truly amazing. Words cannot do it justice, so do yourself a favor and watch the video below.
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