The Home Run Derby was, like every year, a surprise. We saw Josh Hamilton belt out 28 home runs in the first round, and a total of 35. And let me tell you, a lot of those balls were absolutely crushed. But the fact that nobody on ESPN wants to believe is that Justin Morneau won the derby. You see, in most games and tournaments, baseball and the Home Run Derby included, you have a set of rules. In the Home Run Derby, home runs hit do not carry forward to the final round. This means that players have to be consistent; they can’t just hit a slew of home runs and coast. The pressure is on from start to finish. Within the confines of this tournament, Morneau was victorious.
So enough about how Hamilton “deserved” to win. In baseball, sometimes you have games where one team will be completely dominating, but the opposing hitters will crush a mistake or two and walk away with a lucky win. A team might have a great year, win 100 games and their division, and be eliminated in the division series. It might not always seem fair, and it might be frustrating, but that’s the way the game is played. (And isn’t that one reason why we love baseball? It’s so unpredictable and weird.) So I was pretty shocked to see Morneau get absolutely snubbed by the female reporter with the stupid wig. After Hamilton made 10 outs and Morneau was recognized as the winner of the competition, she walked right past him to talk to Hamilton. It was like he was invisible. When he finally got to speak after receiving the trophy, he was asked questions about how he won even though he had hit fewer home runs.
I suppose that I’m just a little tired of having everyone’s boner for Hamilton shoved down my throat. Yes, he kicked his heroin addiction, found God, and got himself back into baseball. Don’t get me wrong, that’s awesome, and I’m happy that he is successful. But what about the players who didn’t do drugs in the first place? Do they get a prize? Dustin McGowan came back from diabetes. Jon Lester came back from cancer! You don’t have the option to try cancer and form a habit of using it. The commentator even said something like “it’s not a good night to be an atheist.” But I’m having a fine night. It’s a good night to be a Canadian.
Congratulations, Justin!