On Thursday, March 26, ESPN2 will be airing a Home Run Derby Classics marathon starting at 6 p.m. ET with 2019’s epic battle between Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Pete Alonso in Cleveland. After that, it will be 2018 (Washington, D.C.), 2017 (Miami) and 2015 (Cincinnati).
To help you celebrate the Home Run Derby fun on an Opening Day without Opening Day baseball, we asked some of our MLB reporters to join us in rewatching these classic long ball showdowns. We’ll be posting “live” updates, reliving our favorite moments and engaging in some good old-fashioned baseball debates beginning as the first long balls clear the fence in Cleveland.
this is my first time watching this on TV and didn’t realize how quickly Vladdy was going in the first round
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) March 26, 2020
And the best part: He’s legitimately mad that he didn’t hit No. 30.
— Dan Mullen (@DanMullen_ESPN) March 26, 2020
Pete Alonso is gonna be winning beer league softball home run derbies decades down the road
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) March 26, 2020
The Derby has become an incredible showcase for baseball’s young talent. Since the rule changes, it’s become the buzzier event than the All-Star game and could be an incredible platform for the sport to introduce its young stars to a national audience. https://t.co/V1w5lAIaKB
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) March 26, 2020
Rewatching the 2019 Home Run Derby and I just feel bad for Matt Chapman. One of the best players in the game and the guy walks into his turn at the Derby with basically no chance of beating Vlad Jr.’s 29 home runs. I’ll take Chapman in a Fielding Derby any day though.
— Dan Mullen (@DanMullen_ESPN) March 26, 2020
Yes! @dschoenfield, who do you got in an MLB skills competition? I’m going with Byron Buxton*
*If healthy.
— Dan Mullen (@DanMullen_ESPN) March 26, 2020
Ichiro would’ve won every competition
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) March 26, 2020
.@karlravechespn asked Alex Bregman if the balls are juiced.
“I don’t know,” Bregman said. “I guess if I’m hitting homers it’s gotta be juiced.”
Heh.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 26, 2020
Joc Pederson is a sneaky great Derby contestant. He has the right swing and he has the undeniable confidence. So impressive to go into this round knowing you need to hit an insane amount of home runs and do it anyway.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 26, 2020
A wall-scraper to tie Vlad at the buzzer. Doesn’t get much better than that.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) March 26, 2020