I had the opportunity to attend both the Futures Game on All Star Sunday, and the Home Run Derby on Workout day. I took a lot of pictures, here are a few with links to more.
Futures Game
The US Squad was a bit nerfed because it was being used as a tryout for the US Olympic team, but there was still a lot of talent around. Fernando Martinez, Jesus Montero, Matt LaPorta, Trevor Cahill, Mat Gamel, and a few other characters of interest were there. Attendance wasn’t very high, but that is probably because Major League Baseball was charging ridiculous prices for an event with limited interest.
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- The view from Tier 11 at Yankee Stadium
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- Fernando Martinez comes up to bat
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- Fernando Martinez at the end of his swing.
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- Jesus Montero in his catcher’s gear
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- Jesus Montero, newly switched into the game as the pitcher warms up
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- Mat Gamel taking a swing
There are a ton of more pictures from the Futures Game here, if you are interested in such things.
Home Run Derby and NL Batting Practice
The Home Run Derby is something I have always found to be pretty boring on TV, but in person it was very fun. Some of that was probably helped by Josh Hamilton’s amazing first round. I got the feeling he stopped hitting balls almost out of the stadium because he got bored, and also did not want to tax his 71 year old pitcher too hard.
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- Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Edison Volquez hanging out during batting practice
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- Chase Utley, Ryan Braun, other people hanging out during batting practice
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- Ppitchers don’t take batting practice in crazy AL parks so Dan Haren and Brandon Webb hung around in the outfield
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- Gathering for a group photo for the press before the derby
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- It’s ridiclous to see the first round in comparison like that
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- After the first round, Josh Hamilton got a group hug of sorts
Zillions of photos of varying quality from the Home Run Derby are here.
All in all a very fun time, and congratulations to Hamilton for this:
