Since it’s inception in 1985, the Home Run Derby has gone through many changes. Initially, the event wasn’t even televised, and mostly amounted to bragging rights for the players participating. With the introduction of an increasingly massive television audience—spurred, no doubt, by the steroid era’s infatuation with long balls—various marketing schemes and corporate angles were superimposed on the contest: in 2005, players were selected by nationality in an attempt to promote the inaugural World Baseball Classic; in recent years, brands like T-Mobile and Century 21 Real Estate introduced philanthropic brand promotions wherein golden baseballs at the end of a given round would result in corporate donations to various charities; most recently, the game switched to a timed format in which players have a set amount of time to uppercut as many balls as possible into the July night (which also allows for more convenient commercial pauses).
Poll: The Home Run Derby and the pains of being Padre
