On Monday in Miami, as a prelude to the All-Star Game the next night, a parade of major leaguers will step to the plate, swing hard and try to lift baseballs into the seats. Officially, it is known as the annual Home Run Derby. It will also seem redundant, because it basically describes the entire first half of the season.
“Guys are going for it more, up and down the lineup,” said the San Francisco Giants’ Buster Posey, the starting catcher for the National League. “Even like your second basemen, guys that traditionally might just be handling the bat, now they’re letting it eat, letting it go.