When it comes to All-Star games, L.A. Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts is no stranger. He will make his seventh appearance as an All-Star this year in Seattle.
But he will be making his first appearance in the Home Run Derby. That’s right, Betts will be the only bro competing this year.
Last month, Betts stated that he would want to participate in the Home Run Derby only if he was named an all-star. Well, there was no surprise that he was going to make the All-Star team and be a starter at that.
Our very own Justin Petrille did a story on Betts after it was announced that he would be participating in the Home Run Derby. In the story, Petrille talked about how Betts’ wife made a comparison to NBA great LeBron James not participating in the dunk contest.
Now the world will get to see Betts display his power on July 10. The 30-year-old will look to become the first Dodger to win the competition and the 12th MLBbro to win. Don’t sleep on Betts either, this brother has some pop in his bat and could be a serious contender to win the derby.
Through 81 games this season, he has belted 22 home runs, to lead the Dodgers.
The last MLBbro to win the Home Run Derby was Aaron Judge back in 2017. He went on to defeat Miguel Sano. Since 2010, three MLBbro’s have won the competition and Betts can make it number four this year. Let’s take a look at all of the MLBbro’s who have won the Home Run Derby.
The bro’s who have been crowned Home Run Derby Champs
1985- Dave Parker (Cincinnati Reds)
1986-Darryl Strawberry (New York Mets)
1987- Andre Dawson (Chicago Cubs)
1989- Eric Davis (Cincinnati Reds)
1994- Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle Mariners)
1995- Frank Thomas (Chicago White Sox)
1996- Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants)
1998- Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle Mariners)
1999- Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle Mariners)
2006- Ryan Howard (Philadelphia Phillies)
2009- Prince Fielder (Milwaukee Brewers)
2016- Giancarlo Stanton (Miami Marlins)
2017- Aaron Judge (New York Yankees)
There’s been a good representation of our MLBbro’s in Home Run Derby competitions. As you can see, the bro’s dominated the contest in the early 1980s and also during the 1990s.
Ken Griffey Jr., one of the best hitters of all time, leads all MLBbros with three Home Run Derby crowns.
On that list you can see that those are some brothers who know how to swing that stick.
Mookie Betts can add another piece of hardware to his impressive collection. This should be an exciting Home Run Derby so you want to make sure you tune in and see how Betts will do in his debut.
LOS ANGELES – The All-Star starters were announced on June 29th, and for the fourth time in his career, Mookie Betts is getting the nod.
After a bit of a slow start to the season for Mookie’s standards, he’s starting to look like his usual self. He batted over .300 for the month of June and has been on an absolute tear in his last seven games, batting .455 with four home runs and 11 RBI, a .559 on-base percentage and a 1.227 slugging percentage.
Overall this season, the Dodgers’ five-tool player has a slashline of .271/.372/.927, with 22 home runs, 56 RBI, and has scored 64 runs, one short of the team lead, which is held by fellow All-Star starter Freddie Freeman. He’s Top 5 in the league in homers and. OPS.
Shortly after the All-Star starting lineup was revealed, Betts confirmed that for the first time in his career he would be participating in the Home Run Derby, competing against the likes of Vlad Guerrero Jr., Randy Arozarena, Pete Alonso, and the hometown hero in Julio Rodriguez.
Betts has had one of the best careers of any player over the last decade. He’s been an MVP, a World Series champion twice, has played in the World Baseball Classic, has won a bunch of Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, the list goes on. He’s done everything, well, almost everything.
“It’s [the Home Run Derby] the last thing I haven’t done,” Betts said on participating for the first time in his 10-year career. “My wife kind of compared it to LeBron not doing the dunk contest. And that’s not a knock or anything, but she just feels like for what I’m trying to do in baseball, bring awareness to Black culture, I should probably be more involved.”
Apart from all the exciting events scheduled for Betts and a few of his teammates, there is still a lot of work for them to do this season. They’re 46-37, which is good, but nowhere near as dominant as we’ve been accustomed to seeing. Over the past decade, the Dodgers have been kings of the NL West, winning it in 10 of the past 11 seasons.
However, it has not been as easy as previous seasons, as they’re currently three games back of one of the most surprising teams in baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and are tied with their archrivals in the San Francisco Giants for the second NL Wild Card spot.
The Dodgers have six games to go before the All-Star break, a four-game series against the Pirates, and a two-game crosstown showdown against the Angels. It’s not a difficult stretch by any means, and all their games are at home.
The D-Backs don’t have a tough last six games either, so these games will be crucial for the boys in blue to at least stay within striking distance of the top. If this past week was any indicator, you can definitely count on Mookie to do everything he can to make sure this last week entering the all-Star break is a good one.
While the Los Angeles Dodgers are spiraling downward as of late to the point of irrelevance, Mookie Betts does his part to bring the franchise back to the news cycle over the weekend.
In a Sunday interview with MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds, the MLBbro put his name in the hat to participate in this year’s MLB All-Star Home Run Derby when the event comes to the T-Mobile Park in Seattle. But only on one condition…
“I’m doing the home run derby,“ Betts said. “…I’m going to do it, I’ma do it, I’ma do it. I’ma do it. As long as I’m an All Star.”
Please excuse the roar of laughter you might be hearing from MLBbro.com at this moment. As one of the best players in MLB, Mookie will be doing the Michael Jackson “Moonwalk” into Seattle and not just as an All-Star, but as a starter in the outfield. As they say…stats don’t lie.
● Since June 1, Betts is batting .328 along with a .970 OPS (Addition of on-base and slugging percentages) with four homers and 19 hits.
● Season averages include a .269 batting average with a .893 OPS, 17 home runs and 43 RBI.
● All of this adds up to our MLBbro ranking second among outfielders in the National League through June 12th with 676,491 All-star votes.
Mookie Will Be Fourth Dodger To Enter Home Run Derby
Mookie Betts will be the fourth different Dodgers player to be a part of the Derby joining Joc Pederson (2016), Corey Seager (2017) and Max Muncy (2018). If Betts wins, he will be the first player in franchise history to bring the home run trophy home.
It will be interesting to see how our MLBbro stacks up to his competitors based on his size. Usually, participants are much larger and use raw power in these competitions.
Betts is more of a scientific hitter, even though he has shown the ability to lose baseballs in the seats over his career.
The format of the Derby is spread out over three rounds. Can Betts sustain his power long enough to last through three rounds?
What Mookie Betts is challenged with…
In the first round, each batter will have three minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. There is potential for bonus time based on participants hitting homers of a certain distance in the round.
In the second round, the remaining competitors will have two minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. All competitors can have a 45 second time out. All ties are susceptible to a swing off. First swing off is 60 seconds, second swing off is three swings.
Seedings are based on the number of homers during the season.
With Mookie tallying a career high 35 dingers last year and on pace to surpass that total this season, look for a surprise at Seattle’s All-Star event, and I’m predicting that Mookie will raise some more hardware to add to his illustrious career.
Despite being no-hit by a Houston Astros’ three-pitcher combination in a 3-0 loss on Saturday, the Yankees are still the hottest team in the Majors and MLBbro Aaron Judge is the brightest light in their lineup.
As the summer rolls on and the days get hotter, so do the New York Yankees, and slugger Aaron Judge. The Yankees remain the top team in baseball as we approach the
halfway point of the season. There are several factors that we can point to for the
Yankees’’ success such as elite starting pitching and a high-octane offense. The Yankees
are amongst the Major League leaders in runs scored and runs allowed proving their two way
dominance. But the most crucial ingredient to their success, is the same one that was key to them
coming in, and that is the dominance of their franchise player, Aaron Judge.
There was much talk about the status of Judge coming into the season, and many
wondered if this would be a distraction. The New York media is notoriously ruthless and known
for making big stars crumble under pressure. Not only has Judge answered the call, but he has
exceeded expectations. Brian Cashman and the Yankees more than likely find themselves having
to empty their pocketbooks to re-sign Judge with the type of success he is having. He has put not
only the Yankees and their fans on notice, but the entire league that he is one of the nest and
intends to be paid as such.
Judge is almost a foregone conclusion as a starter in this year’s All-Star Game. Last week
Judge reportedly opted out of the annual Home Run Derby. “Nope, I already did that” Judge told
the New York Post. Although fans will be disappointed one of the most dangerous and powerful
hitters in the game won’t be participating, this shows his commitment to bigger and loftier goals.
At this current pace, Judge will earn possibly an MVP award, Silver Slugger, Hank Aaron
Award, All-Star recognition, and also has a realistic chance at huge playoff success with the way
his team has steamrolled through competition. He is laser focused and driven by his
determination to prove his pre-season doubters wrong.
Judge is having the best year of his already amazing career. Judge is hitting over .300 and
leads the league in home runs by a considerable margin. Not only is he contributing at the plate
but he is playing quality defense. This is noteworthy as he has spent much time in centerfield
this year. The dominance of Judge is igniting the team to new heights and they look ready to be a
formidable contender for a deep playoff run that Bronx fans hope will result in extending their
league leading World Series championship amount to 28. This would not only cap off a great
year for the Yankees, but cement MLBbro Aaron Judge in history as another Yankee great.
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