Players will be awarded an extra minute if they hit two home runs estimated to go further than 420 feet, in a single round, along with an extra 30 seconds if any home run is projected to be over 475 ft.
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Obviously, everyone in the Derby has some pop in their bat, but the longest home run of the night might come from an unexpected source.
Workers prepare the field at Great American Ball Park for the 2015 All-Star Game Baseball game, Thursday, July 9, 2015, in Cincinnati.
Should Pederson advance past Machado in the first round, he would face the victor of Pujols vs. Bryant in the next round.
Todd Frazier of the host Reds, tied for second in the National League with 25 home runs, is the favorite to win the event, with 7/2 odds.
Juan Francisco also hit one that ended up outside the park, a homer off Rodrigo Lopez in 2011 that cleared the right field stands, bounced onto the adjacent street and hit a auto. “Really long”, Pederson said. “I think I made a decision to do it more for him, so he can experience it with me and share that with me”, said the young 23 year old.
Pederson has selected Triple-A coach Johnny Washington to pitch to him.
The elder Bryant said pitching to Kris is something he had on his bucket list. Mike Bryant taught Kris to hit at a young age, passing along the lessons he learned from Ted Williams during the two spring trainings he was a Boston Red Sox farmhand in the early 1980s. “We always talked about it growing up and now it’s here”.
Listen to the 2015 Home Run Derby on KPUG on Monday starting at 5:00pm.
“Cincinnati’s a pretty good left-handed hitter’s ballpark”, Bryant said.
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There are so many great candidates – should you put your support behind Derby first-timer Anthony Rizzo, or on the very strong shoulders of two-time champ Prince Fielder? He will be participating for the sixth time, matching Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, and trailing only Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark McGwire.
