WALK-OFF

     BY MARK HALPERN

        The Home Run Derby is the thing most fans look forward to, when Baseball hits the All-Star Break. It’s something everyone loves watching, just like the Dunk contest. I  wish Baseball would be like the NBA and have multiple events such as fielding, bunting, throwing accuracy etc.… 

   The Home Run derby has changed rules three times during my time of watching. First, it was 10 outs if a ball didn’t go out it was an out.  Then it was changed to a three minute time limit in the first round and then more rounds of timed limits. I hated this because it caused more of a rush and put the players in a chance for a greater risk of tiring themselves out in the heat. Now, this year they brought back the swings but doubled it to 20 then each round got less. The crop of players for this years derby was one of the more anticipated ones because the field of players was of such high caliber with such players as Bryce Harper, Kyle Swarber, Jordan Walker, Junior Caminero and others.  

    One thing about the Derby, whether you’re a young player or a Veteran everyone wants to participate in the Derby. We have seen veterans win, but we’ve also seen young players such as Julio Rodriguez and Pete Alonso win. This year we witnessed another young player win. Jordan Walker was a top prospect for the Cardinals and it had been a struggle. This year has been a pure breakout year for him as he has been a reason why the Cardinals are shocking the world. Walker in the last round launched and I mean launched 11 home runs, including six consecutive with one out to play with to win the title.

    After the win the internet had some fun showing that Walker winning one million dollars is more than what he currently makes. For the Cardinals sake hopefully 2026 Jordan Walker is what they see for a long time, because if so Monday night a star was born.