THE CANADIAN PRESS
NEW YORK — You’ve heard those criticisms that the Home Run Derby is boring and drags on for far too long? Here’s an easy way to change that — just bring Josh Hamilton back every year.
The Texas Rangers outfielder put on a must-see display of jaw-dropping power Monday night, making 500-foot home runs seem routine. He finished with a record-setting 28 bombs in the first-round and ripped four more for fun in the second round before he faded in a 5-3 loss to Canadian Justin Morneau in the final.
Make no mistake, however, this was Hamilton’s moment to shine.
"He’s the story of this year," said Morneau, who handled his victory with class. "The year he’s having and for him to come in and put on a show like that, it was something impressive. We were in awe of what he was doing. …
"At the same time this is something I’ve always dreamed of."
Just how impressive was Hamilton? Even Babe Ruth would have tipped his cap.
The 53,716 at Yankee Stadium chanted his name over and over. Fellow players stared in wonder. Teammate Milton Bradley put an arm around him at home plate and snapped a picture.
"I do," Hamilton said when asked if he could still be a winner without the title. "I said after the first round, `If I don’t hit another ball out or if I don’t win this, I’m not going to be disappointed.’
"Human nature, you are a little disappointed but we accomplished what we wanted to."
And all who followed him quickly became an afterthought.
The Bambinoesque fireworks show in the House that Ruth built is the latest chapter in Hamilton’s inspiring recovery from a drug addiction so severe that he once described himself as "a dead man walking."
The first overall pick by Tampa Bay in 1999, Hamilton fell into a spiral that carried him out of baseball for years before he got himself straight. He returned to the minors in 2006, spent last season with the Cincinnati Reds and has blossomed into a superstar this year with the Rangers.
To make the story even better, Hamilton invited 71-year-old Clay Counsil, a high school coach in Raleigh, N.C., who used to throw him batting practice years ago. He wanted to show Counsil some appreciation for all he’s done for local kids.
"You know, he’s never expected anything back from anybody," Hamilton said earlier in the day. "Probably never really got a lot of thank-yous for doing it, either."
Hamilton wore him out.
He saw 54 pitches in that first round, crushing 28 of them for home runs to break Bobby Abreu’s single-round record of 24 set in 2005 at Detroit.
The 28 alone put him 10th on the all-time derby list and was five more than the three other semifinalists tallied in the opening round — eight each for Morneau and Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman, seven for Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun.
Morneau, the Minnesota Twins first baseman from New Westminster, B.C., added nine more homers in the second round to join Hamilton in the final.
"We were sitting there saying `How do you follow that?"’ recalled Morneau. "Berkman went out there and he was blasting balls in the upper deck and it almost seemed like everyone was bored."
Hamilton didn’t need to take a single swing to get out of the second round but took a few cuts to warm up anyway and hit four more. But it was the first-round that had everyone abuzz.
At least three of his homers struck high up the wall behind the seats in right-centre field, at distances of 518, 504 and 502 feet. Each swing seemed to bring a shot deeper and deeper into the stands.
"I was trying to hit the subway there," said Hamilton. "Guys were messing with me from my team. Michael Young said, `I want to see you hit the Bank of America sign.’ I said, `OK, I’ll try.’ And I came out doing it."
In the final, Morneau went first and hit five home runs, including a couple to the upper deck in right, and that was enough to slip past a gassed Hamilton. He hit three home runs, and not even the theme music from "Rocky" and the fans chanting his name could get him over the hump.
"You don’t realize how tired you are," said Hamilton. "That last round, you’re out there swinging, you’re tired and you try to create the power instead of like the first round, just letting it happen nice and easy."
.It was quite a workout for Counsil, whose endurance Hamilton joked about earlier in the afternoon.
"I said, `You going to tighten up on me?" Hamilton recalled. "He said, `No, but I might have a heart attack."’
Morneau was participating in the event for a second straight year and fared much better than he did in San Francisco last July. In that one, he and Pujols both finished the opening round tied for fourth with four homers and in the tiebreaker, Morneau homered once in five swings while Pujols hit two to move on.
"It’s a fun event if you start swinging well, if you get hot. It’s a little tough if you’re not swinging that well," Morneau said in the afternoon. "As long as you get that first one, you can kind of relax after that. You get one then all of a sudden you start going, you feel good."
Cleveland Indians centre-fielder Grady Sizemore and Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, with six apiece, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley with five and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria with three were knocked out in the first round.
