2009 Home Run Derby

2009 Home Run Derby Growing up, the Home Run Derby was always my favorite part of baseball’s All Star weekend. I used to love it. I remember my dad telling me about the Home Run Derby TV show that he used to watch with the old stars like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Mickey Mantle; and there was just something inherently exciting about seeing baseball’s biggest and best stars step up to the plate with one thing on their mind: swinging for the fences.

And, of course, this was back in the late 80s and early 90s when my love for the long ball was still untainted by steroids. It was the same innocent awe with which I watched Big Mac and Sammy’s 1994 1998 (thanks Scott) pursuit of Roger Maris.

Times have changed now, and the home run isn’t quite what it used to be. And neither is the Home Run Derby. Maybe it’s because of steroids, maybe it’s just because I’m older, or maybe it’s because my childhood heroes like The Big Hurt and The Kid are no longer sweet-swinging for the fences the night before the All Star Game anymore. For whatever reason, the Home Run Derby is no longer must-watch TV for me now. I’m still interested in it, but I don’t plan my night around watching it.

With all that being said, I had the opportunity to re-watch last year’s Home Run Derby this past weekend. They replayed it on either ESPN or the MLB Network, I don’t remember which one, but I sat through the first hour of it just so I could watch Josh Hamilton put on the most amazing 10-out sequence in the history of the Derby. I didn’t get to watch the entire thing last year, but after seeing highlights and hearing people gush about it non-stop (especially here in Dallas), I had to watch.

And my goodness, it was everything it was cracked up to be and more. I could not find the actual TV broadcast on YouTube, but there is plenty of amateur video available from people who were in the stands that night. One of them is below: