The 2017 Home Run Derby is just two days away. On Monday night (7:00 CT on ESPN), a solid field of sluggers will compete at Marlins Park in Miami. This year's cast features Giancarlo Stanton —the 2016 winner—and seven first-timers: Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Mike Moustakas, Miguel Sano, Charlie Blackmon, Justin Bour, and Gary Sanchez.
In recent years, the derby has received a much-needed jolt of energy. The format was tweaked in 2015; instead of "outs," each hitter now has a time limit to hit as many homers as he can. The result has been an event with much better pace. However, the peak era for the derby was probably in the late 90s and early 2000s.
The 1998 Home Run Derby was held at Coors Field, then just four years old. Back then, all the stars came out to play.
1998 Home Run Derby
| Name | Team | First Half HR |
|---|---|---|
| Mark McGwire | Cardinals | 37 |
| Ken Griffey | Mariners | 35 |
| Alex Rodriguez | Mariners | 27 |
| Rafael Palmeiro | Orioles | 26 |
| Vinny Castilla | Rockies | 25 |
| Jim Thome | Indians | 23 |
| Moises Alou | Astros | 20 |
| Chipper Jones | Braves | 21 |
| Damion Easley | Tigers | 19 |
| Javy Lopez | Braves | 19 |
Griffey won with 19 homers. He holds the record for most Home Run Derby wins (3) and appearances (8). Griffey's most famous Derby moment came in 1993 at Camden Yards.
One night after Griffey won, Barry Bonds hit a ball into the third deck in the All-Star Game. The pitcher was a 25-year-old by the name of Bartolo Colon.
Baseball is here! And more importantly, that means the over/under game is back. It seems as though everyone is an expert this time of year. Somehow we convince ourselves that we are better at predicting baseball outcomes than everyone else. Well, AFITB is putting that to the test for the third year in a row. Think you know more about baseball than us? You probably do. But go ahead and prove it anyway.