Bumgarner was part of a contingent of pitchers lobbying to be in the Derby.
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Giants ace Madison Bumgarner will not participate in the Home Run Derby this summer after the MLB Players Association lobbied against the idea, according to the Bay Area News Group.
Bruce Bochy all but had his mind made up days ago: Madison Bumgarner would hit in an AL ballpark for interleague rather than using a designated hitter. Bochy said. “I talked to him”.
Bumgarner boomed a double in his first at-bat and it touched off a six-run torching of A’s left-hander Dillon Overton. Belt drove in four runs. All three, despite a relatively small sample size of at-bats, would probably be a more effective choice than Bumgarner.
“It’s really scary when you hear you have an issue not just with your shoulder but with your labrum especially, but the trainers are optimistic that once get it calmed down and once we get the swelling out we’ll be back in business”.
“This isn’t done to have fun or make a joke of this”, Bochy said. It is the first time a team purposefully put its pitcher in that role since the Chicago White Sox did so with Ken Brett in 1976, per the Associated Press (via ESPN). The alternative to Bumgarner would be Jarrett Parker, whose left-handed bat has struggled against left-handed pitchers throughout 2016. Tampa Bay’s Andy Sonnanstine (in the lineup by mistake in 2009) and Texas’ Fergie Jenkins in 1974 have the others.
Plus, the Giants may not have a bevy of right-handed batters to take on a lefty, but Mac Williamson is 6 for 26 with two home runs against left-handed pitchers this season and is creating runs at a rate 22 percent higher than league average.
Bumgarner is hitting just. He took a huge rip at the first pitch and popped out.
But Bumgarner’s leadoff double was just the kind of momentum swing that the Giants needed after Tuesday’s bullpen implosion and Wednesday’s follies afield. “The players union, of course they don’t want a pitcher taking a (position) player’s spot in the Home Run Derby, and I don’t think they were too keen on doing the pitchers’ (Derby) this year”. It’s nothing against our guys, but he’s a pretty good hitter and it’s a pretty good matchup….
The three-time All-Star has hit 11 homers and driven in 29 runs in 193 at-bats over the past three seasons.
Even so, that would not alleviate the possibility for an untimely injury or added fatigue as previously noted by Bochy upon holding off on letting his top southpaw enter the mix.
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Bumgarner is a great hitter for being a pitcher, but he’s hardly a great hitter when compared to the standard designated hitter. Bumgarner gave up three last Saturday to the Phillies, marking the first time since April 15 he allowed more than two earned runs in a start.
