Minor league Home Run Derby may upstage MLB’s event in San Diego
To many baseball fans, the Home Run derby is the main event of MLB’s All-Star festivities, and the reason for that is simple: Though we never get the full group of participants we wish for every season, we know we’re in for a show that will be memorable for one reason or another.
Sometimes the reason is good, as we’re left to ponder how the next season’s lineup and overall event could possibly top it. And, quite honestly, sometimes the reason is bad, as the event can overstay its welcome and leave us wondering how MLB will fix it to make it easier to watch.
You never quite know which way it will go, but you know there will be buzz going in and conversation after that often outlasts any conversation that surrounds the All-Star game itself.
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With that in mind, we all know that Petco Park in San Diego will be hosting the All-Star festivities for the first time ever this July. That means a new Home Run derby venue, which means new possibilities for memorable visuals and majestic home runs. But as exciting as those possibilities are, there’s another home run taking place in San Diego this year that could top it.
Earlier this week, the Lake Elsinore Storm, the Padres’ Class A affiliate in the California League, announced they will be hosting the Midway Classic on June 20, which will be a Home Run Derby-style event to take place on the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier (the USS Midway) in the port of San Diego.
Yes, you read the correctly, but just in case it’s not sinking in here are more details from the team’s press release.
Home plate for the competing hitters will be located approximately 250 feet from the bow of the ship, and the hitters are expected to hit an estimated total of 150 balls into San Diego Bay.
The balls landing in the bay will be retrieved by volunteers on jet skis, standup paddleboards and kayaks who are stationed in the landing zone. The volunteers include teens who are benefactors of Outdoor Outreach, a local non-profit that provides water-based recreation opportunities to youth in underserved neighborhoods in the San Diego and South Bay areas.
Port staff assisted with all of the permitting and arrangements with the affected local agencies and tenant businesses for the in-water portion of this event, and San Diego Harbor Police will be on station in the water as well.
The derby will be matchup style, with four stars from the California League and four stars from the Carolina League battling for a spot in the finals. And to the winner there goes some pretty cool bragging rights.
If this set up sounds familiar though, that’s probably because the South Atlantic League held the first round of its derby aboard the flight deck of the USS Yorktown in the Charleston Harbor back in 2012. So this may not exactly be a first, but it’s still a pretty cool idea.
And let’s be honest, as fun as it is to watch to professional hitters launch baseballs to all parts of actual baseball stadiums, it’s going to be even cooler watching guys launch from the bows of an aircraft carrier.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
