Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Second thoughts
Betts: Dump HR Derby, try other skills
With less than a week until the annual Home Run Derby, part of Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities, the field is thin.
Washington Nationals superstar Bryce Harper was the first to say yes to the event being held at his home ballpark. He was followed by Los Angeles Dodgers surprise slugger Max Muncy on Monday. Beyond that, no one has volunteered.
New York Yankees teammates Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have ruled themselves out and no one else has offered to fill the void, including Boston Red Sox hitters J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts. Betts has an idea on how to fix it.
“Do something else, or take it out. Don’t even do it,” Betts said. “Anything you do too much, people are going to get tired of it.”
Instead, Betts recommends MLB adopt a skills competition like the one he participated in when he was a kid during an annual youth tournament at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Cooperstown hosts four different skills-based events, including a mini home run derby called “King of Swat,” during which players only get five swings per round before receiving 10 chances in the finals.
Variety really kicks in after that. The “Golden Arm” pits players in center field, requiring them to make throws to home plate. They are rewarded for accuracy and distance.
The “Roadrunner” tests speed on the basepaths, timing players as they run from home to home. Miss a base and lose time.
Finally, there’s “Around the Horn Plus” which has a team of players rifle the ball around the field to one another in a timed event.
Betts says this is the best avenue to reinvigorate interest in the event, though it doesn’t have to follow the Cooperstown formula perfectly.
“Something like a throwing from the outfield contest. Some type of throwing contest,” Betts said. “Trying to throw into a barrel or infielders have to take a ground ball to your left, ground ball to your right, slow roller and they have to throw into a screen with a box. That might be something.”
The Home Run Derby is scheduled for Monday so any of Betts’ suggestions will have to wait another year.
Herman’s toes
An injury that might sound small turned out to be plenty big for Jim Herman. Imagine trying to play golf for a living and needing surgery on your toes.
Herman was last seen trudging up the hill on the 18th hole at the Riviera Country Club in California in the second round of the Genesis Open, and then facing an even steeper walk up the steps to the clubhouse. He immediately withdrew and didn’t play again until last week on the Web.com Tour in what amounted to a rehab assignment.
The issue? Herman noticed the nails on his baby toes (both feet) would fall off, grow back awkwardly, and then fall off again. It eventually became too painful to walk, and because he couldn’t shift his weight to his left side, it began affecting his swing.
“It got to point where I couldn’t make a swing without pain,” he said.
Along the way, he developed plantar fasciitis, leading to a miserable year. Herman had surgery on his toes and wore a boot to deal with the plantar fasciitis. He returned last week at the Web.com’s Lecom Health Challenge, where he tied for sixth.
“I’ve missed it. It was good to get back out,” Herman said. “And it was nice to get this resolved.”
He plans a few more Web.com Tour starts to make sure his feet can handle a full schedule.