None of this — none of it — is a slight against baseball, which I love. But to love it, you have to sit back and love it a little bit at a time and wait for one or two big moments when you can love it a lot all at once. It’s momentum-driven and every at-bat influences the next one, so it’s enormously ill-suited for superstar exhibitions to begin with. That’s why the Home Run Derby exists: to serve the needs of the impatient, who think only home runs are interesting. There’s no Called Third Strike Derby, no Bloop Single Derby, and no Not Dropping A Fly Ball Derby. There’s certainly no Sacrifice Bunt Derby and no Intentional Walk Derby.
I’m just not sure why it needs to happen, the whole thing. There are plenty of baseball games if you want to see one. Why settle for one that doesn’t even count?
Well said.
