AL @ NL
8:00PM EDT | Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ)
TV: ESPN RADIO: ESPN Radio
GAME NOTES
It’s not the AL vs. the NL in this Home Run Derby. It’s the AL East vs. the NL. For the first time, the NL and AL squads were chosen by captains, David Ortiz chose the AL side and Prince Fielder the NL. Ortiz stayed within the AL East for his team picking teammate Adrian Gonzalez, Yankee Robinson Cano and Blue Jay Jose Bautista. Fielder chose teammate Rickie Weeks, Cardinal Matt Holliday and Dodger Matt Kemp for the NL team. The format of the contest will remain the same though as all 8 players will compete in the first round, the top 4 will advance to the second round, and then the top 2 to the finals.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY
The first home run derby was held in 1985 at The Metrodome. It featured 5 players from the NL and five from the AL. The Red Sox were well represented as 4 of the 10 players who participated played for the Red Sox at some point in their careers: Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, Tom Brunansky and Jack Clark. Rice obviously spent his entire career with the Red Sox from 1974-1989. Fisk was with the Red Sox from 1969-1980 before changing his Sox to white from 1981-1993. Brunansky was a Twin in 1985 but came to Boston in 1990-92 and again in 1994. Clark was a Cardinal in 1985 but played for the Red Sox in his final two seasons from 1991-1992. The first derby was won by Dave Parker of the Reds who hit a total of 6 HRs.