Event losing luster with big names absent
By KEN DAVIDOFF
WASHINGTON — While Bryce Harper saved this Home Run Derby, he didn’t exactly ensure its future success.
“If it’s your home crowd, do it,” the Nationals’ superstar said late Monday night, after he won the Derby championship in memorable fashion, 19-18 over the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber, in front of his home crowd at Nationals Park. “I mean, that was the biggest thing for me. I wanted to do it in front of my home crowd. If it wasn’t in front of my home crowd this year, I wouldn’t have done it.”
That sigh you just heard was actually two simultaneous sighs, one from the Commissioner’s Office and the other from Players Association headquarters.
Harper headlined this field that was, all due respect afforded to the other competitors, underwhelming. It seriously lacked star power, especially after last year’s event featured the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton, then of the host Marlins.
Judge couldn’t have helped the cause when, en route to winning the 2017 title, he suffered a leftshoulder injury that required offseason surgery. Stanton considered entering again yet passed when he didn’t make the American League All-Star team. Superstar Mike Trout of the Angels went from a maybe to a no when he sprained his right index finger last month.
You know who would have made this Derby even more fun and would have established an exciting precedent, too? Ichiro Suzuki. The beloved star currently works for the Mariners as a uniformed executive, and he still takes batting practice before every game. Last month, Seattle manager Scott Servais publicly floated the idea of Ichiro’s entry in the Derby. Major League Baseball considered the idea before deciding it would be better off giving the slots to active players.
Eh. The Derby functions best when it features names that are already big as opposed to affording lesser-known guys the opportunity to become names. Who cares if one of those names isn’t an active player?
When The Post asked Harper earlier in the day whether he was disappointed by Ichiro’s absence, Harper said, “I think they got some pretty good guys. I think Ichiro would be a lot of fun to watch, because that guy can hit homers whenever he wants in BP. He’s definitely special in that respect of hitting balls into the seats in right field. But I’m not really disappointed.”
Harper ensured that no one would go home disappointed. It’s a dangerous game, however, to count on a hometown hero every year. The deeper the field, the better the chances for this night to remain big-time.