MLB fans who watched the All-Star Game were in for a treat, as they got two days of a Home Run Derby. For the first time in history, there was a derby swing-off after the American and National teams were tied at 6-6 at the end of regulation. Funny enough, the idea had already been put in the air by Chicago Cubs' Justin Turner in 2020, when he suggested that a home run derby should end extra-inning games.
“Instead of playing 17 innings, you get one extra inning, you play the 10th inning, and no one scores, then you go to a home run derby,” Turner said via Spectrum SportsNet. “You take each team's three best hitters and you give them all five outs and see who hits the most homers.
“You know, you wanna keep fans in the stands until the end of the game. I know when I go to hockey games, I actually enjoy watching shootouts. That keeps me in my seat, so maybe a home run derby will do that as well.”
After the All-Star Game, a social media user showed a picture of the story written about Turner proposing the rule, with them saying, “Look what we have here [Justin Turner].
Turner replied to the message with “What a great idea that guy had.”
In 2o22, the MLB changed the rules to allow each manager to select three players to compete in the tiebreaker, with each player just allowed three swings. The team that has the most total home runs is declared the winner. It was the National League that came out victorious, as All-Star MVP Kyle Schwarber hit homers on all three of his swings.
It was a good idea for the MLB to switch to that format, and it does make things more interesting at the end of games. It looks like Turner may have been actually ahead of schedule when he proposed that years ago, and they were finally able to put it to good use in the All-Star Game.
