Prince Fielder: Home Run King

Prince Fielder is the 2009 State Farm Home Run Derby champion. Fielder edged out Nelson Cruz in the final round.

Fielder (1st round: 11), Cruz (11), Ryan Howard (7), and Albert Pujols (5) each made it to the semi-finals.

Pujols, Joe Mauer, and Carlos Pena took part in a Bat Off. Each of them hit five homers in the first round, but Pujols won the Bat Off with two homers.

Pujols, the heavy favorite, hit six in the semis, raising his total to 11. Ryan Howard's eight in the semis increased his total to 15 with the help of a "gold ball" rally. However, it wasn't enough. Cruz hit five homers and Fielder hit six in the semis.

The totals cleared in the final round. Cruz hit five in the finals, but Fielder followed with six, winning the derby. Cruz totaled 21 homers. Fielder totaled 23.

Fielder hit the longest homer of the night, a 503 shot to right-center.

HR Derby Prediction: Howard Wins It

Also featured on Phillies Nation.

Ryan Howard will be participating in the 2009 State Farm Home Run Derby, and he has a good chance of winning. Howard won the derby in 2006 and lost in 2007.

The other contestants are Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer, Brandon Inge, Carlos Pena, and Nelson Cruz. There will be competition and a large power display with these participants (mainly from the NL competitors), but I think Howard will win.

In front of his home crowd, Pujols is the favorite. All pressure is on him. But Howard will be in his home town, St. Louis. He has had success at Busch Stadium, and could bring that success into the derby.

In 2006, Howard hit eight in the first round, ten in the semi-finals, and five in the finals, totaling 23 home runs. Howard had an advantage by batting last, so he knew how many homers he needed.

Howard returned to the 2007 derby trying to protect his crown, but he hit only three home runs. However, the 2007 Home Run Debry was one of the worst in recent memory. AT&T Park, a pitcher's park, was not made for a home run competition.

At Busch Stadium, the dimensions are 336 in left, 390 in left center and right center, 400 in center, and 335 to right. It is a fair park, however Howard has 7 home runs in 63 at-bats at Busch. His best shot at winning is pulling it to right, and occasionally to straight-away centerfield. He may get into trouble if he starts hitting to the opposite field or right-center like he did in 2007.

Here are my predictions for Howard for each round:

Round One: 13 HR (On a side note, I'm predicting Mauer, Pujols, Fielder, and Howard to advance to semis)
Semi-Finals: 8 HR
Finals: 7 HR, Howard edges Pujols for win.

Remember, the first two rounds are added together, but the two finalist start fresh in the Finals.

I expect it to be much like 2006, with the only difference being that Ramon Henderson will not be pitching to Howard. Howard will be bringing his former high school coach, Deron Spink.

If you're worried about Howard falling into a slump after the derby, think again. Howard batted .355 with 30 HR and had a 1.206 OPS after the 2006 HR Derby. In 2007 he batted .280 with 26 HR and had a 1.016 OPS after the HR Derby.

Howard isn't going to break Josh Hamilton's record for most home runs in a round (28) or Abreu's record (41 total), however I expect him to a put on a show.

The Curse of John Kruk

Every year, the Baseball Tonight boys predict who they think will win the Home Run Derby. Whoever John Kruk picks will lose.

In 2006, he picked a different person every round. Every player he picked lost in that round he picked them. He picked David Wright in the final round. Who won? Ryan Howard. The Krukker had a good spirit joking "Ryan Howard, the guy who I went with all along.."

In 2007, Krukky picked Howard. Who was knocked out of the first round? Howard.

I'm pretty sure Kruk picked Chase Utley last year. Who was knocked out of the first round? Utley. In the final round, I'm pretty sure he picked Josh Hamilton. Who won? Justin Morneau.

My "who will John Kruk pick this year prediction" is either Pujols or Howard. I'm leaning towards Pujols since the Derby is in St. Louis.

Tune in later for a non-Kruk related Home Run Derby Prediction post.

HR Derby & All Star Game for Howard

There is that whole "who should be an All Star? The voting system stinks" debate. That's all fun and games. There may be other players who deserve it more than Ryan Howard (Pablo Sandoval, etc.) however, Charlie Manuel picked Howard as a reserve and he had his reasons.

First off, Howard is Phillie. Manuel's players are the reason he is coaching the All Star Game.

He is from St. Louis. He has great numbers at Busch Stadium. In 17 games, Howard is batting .381 (24-for63) with 7 HR and 29 RBI. His on-base percentage is .536, his slugging percentage is .746 and his OPS is 1.282.

The National League has four first baseman (Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, Prince Fielder and Howard), so chances are Howard will not play. However, Manuel feels that Howard is a reliable bat off the bench to pinch hit. He has proven he can hit in his hometown.

Also, on the All Star ballots, there was a section to vote for who the fans would like to see in the HR Derby. Howard finished second in the balloting, and he will indeed participate in the home run derby. Howard won the derby in 2006.

If I were a betting woman, I'd bet on Howard to win the Home Run Derby. He won it before. He didn't make it far in 2007, but look at the park he played in; AT&T Park. Home runs weren't flying that night.

This year, he'll be up against Pujols, Gonzalez, and Fielder, so far. Tough competition. This is Howard's chance to shine in front of his hometown. He may not get an ovation like Josh Hamilton last year, but I am sure he'll get a good one. As long as he hits homers, which he is known to do, the crowd will be behind him.

I think he will win it. Only one question remains: Will Ramon Henderson pitch to him?

Year In Review: All Star Break

The All Star Break put the first half of the season behind, moving onto the second half. Although just 2 Phillies participated in the mid-summer classic, the All Star Break had a lot of significance for the Phillies.

Chase Utley participated in the 2008 Home Run Derby, hoping to follow Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard's footsteps. Utley finished with just 5 home runs, not moving past the first round.

It was Josh Hamilton who stole the show at Yankee Stadium as fans cheered his name. Hamilton, a feel good story, bouncing back from a drug problem, returned to MLB, and broke Bobby Abreu's HR Derby record.

Abreu set a record hitting 24 home runs in round one of the 2005 Home Run Derby, totaling 41 HR bringing home the victory. Hamilton broke Abreu's record clobbering 28 home runs in one round.

Unlike Abreu, Hamilton did not come home with the victory despite hitting the most home runs during the derby with 35. Justin Morneau won the HR Derby as the number of home runs cleared for the third round.

Hamilton decided to keep hitting in the 2nd round, which may of cost him, tiring himself out. Hamilton's 3 HR in the 3rd round was short to Morneau's 5 in the last round. If remembered, Morneau will be known for the victory, but Hamilton will be known for stealing the show.

The All Star Game followed the Home Run Derby. Chase Utley started at second base for the National League for the third straight year. Utley received the most votes in the National League with over 3 million. Utley just fell short to Alex Rodriguez for most in MLB. Brad Lidge also made the team, however a deserving Pat Burrell didn't make the team, losing the Final Vote.

Utley was 1-3 in his 2008 All Star appearance. Also, during the HR Derby, Utley cured on live television for the first time after being booed by the New York faithful.

The game was back and forth, with the NL getting on the board first. Down 2 in the 7th, J.D. Drew homered to tie the game at 2. The NL gained the lead, but gave it right back up in the 8th. Nate McClouth threw out Dioner Navarro in the 11th inning to prevent the AL from winning. The game went as long as 15 innings, when Michael Young hit a sacrifice fly to end the game.

Young hit the sac fly off the Phillies pitcher, Brad Lidge, his only loss of the season. Lidge was very much tired out at the time of his appearance, throwing over 100 pitches in the bullpen, very unusual for a reliever. Instead of pitching him earlier, Clint Hurdle, the NL manager, decided to wait to pitch him. Many pitchers were used, and Lidge appeared in the 15th inning, receiving the loss.

It did not factor into his regular season stats, although it cost the National League home field advantage for the World Series with the loss. Or did it? The Phillies wound up making the World Series, and after 2 games in Tampa Bay, the Phillies had 3 games in a row at Citizen's Bank Park, which was enough for the home field advantage. Ironic indeed. I'd say the All Star Game loss ended up turning into a save for Lidge.

In 2009 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Charlie Manuel will be managing that All Star Team.