The Orioles will once again be represented in the Home Run Derby as part of the All-Star Game festivities. This will be the fourth straight year there’s been an Oriole in the contest and Mark Trumbo will be the fourth different Oriole to be in the derby in that time.
Trumbo, the overall MLB home run leader, was a no-brainer to be in the contest as long as he was interested in participating.
The format will be similar to the new one that was unveiled last year. Rather than have all participants competing against one another in the opening rounds, the derby will consist of head-to-head matchups that funnel towards a final matchup to determine the champion. Rather than the limited number of outs (non-home runs) in years past, the head-to-heads will be based on home runs hit over five minutes of time.
Trumbo, as the player with the most current home runs, is the number one seed. He will be facing off against Corey Seager of the Dodgers, who has hit 17 home runs to date. If Trumbo were to win that opening matchup, he’d then face off against the winner of a home run battle between Robinson Cano and Giancarlo Stanton.
No Oriole has won the Home Run Derby since Miguel Tejada did so back in 2004. Maybe Trumbo can have better fortune than Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and Manny Machado have all had in the last three years.
How many different lineups do you think there are in MLB that can boast four different Home Run Derby-worthy sluggers? Probably not too many. No wonder the Orioles keep winning in spite of a struggling starting rotation.