HR Derby/All-Star Game/Other Crap Official Thread

[Lil Bit Special]

They should change the Home Run Derby to the way they had the TV show back in 1960

9 innings. 3 outs per inning.

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The rules were similar to modern home run derbies, with one notable exception. If a batter did not swing at a pitch that was in the strike zone, that also constituted an out.

Batters were given three outs per inning, and the player with the most home runs after nine innings won. The defending champion had the advantage of batting last, and the challenger thus would bat first. Any ball not hit for a home run was an out. The player did not have to swing at every pitch, but if he did not swing at it, and the pitch was in the strike zone, that also constituted an out, as well as a swing and a miss, but these rarely happened as the pitcher was supposed to be giving the batters good balls to hit. If the players were tied after nine, the derby would go into extra innings as per regular baseball.

While one player was taking his turn at bat, the other player would be at the host's booth and would have a brief conversation, typically unrehearsed "small-talk" about the contest itself or the player's performance for that season. Willie Mays, who was a champion later in the run (after losing in the initial contest to Mantle), joked with host Scott during his run that the host should be quiet while he batted and Scott took him up on it, speaking into the mike sotto voce, like a bowling or golf announcer, whenever Mays would step up to the plate. Sometimes when the batter would hit a ball in the deep outfield, the player in the booth would sometimes comment that it could have gone for extra bases in a real game, which Scott replies that on Home Run Derby it's nothing but an out.

They should have 3 hitters on each side each getting one out per inning. This would be a heck of a lot more interesting than the current crap they have.