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If they wanted to sell us on the new format, I’m not sure there could have been a better Home Run Derby to make the pitch.

Plus: I found the funniest Home Run Derby of all time, Tyler Kepner asks the All-Stars about the CBA and … is it becoming the Some-Stars Game?

I’m Levi Weaver — welcome to The Windup!

Home Run Derby: Walker’s walk-off win stuns Philly

Now that was a great Home Run Derby.

And it was a perfect way to showcase the not-over-till-it’s-over format. In an event designed to highlight the home run, Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker won it on the most exciting kind: a walk-off.

From the get-go, Walker’s easy swing made for a fun contrast in style to Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras, whose violent twists looked more like attempts to fracture the sky. Coincidentally, both finished the first round tied for first with 13 home runs.

The drama of the night started when Phillies teammates Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper were up to bat (which was last) in the first round. As fate would have it, Schwarber hit 10 home runs to rank fourth — with only four hitters advancing — and only Harper yet to hit. It was going to be one or the other, and Harper ultimately came up short with eight, bowing out in the first round along with Ben Rice, Munetaka Murakami and Jac Caglianone.

After beating Contreras and Junior Caminero head-to-head in Round 2, it was Schwarber and Walker in the final round. Schwarber went first and found his groove almost immediately, finishing with 11 home runs.

That was a tall order for Walker, who hit just six home runs in his first 12 swings. But then came the magic. It went like this:

Swing 13: home run (No. 7)
Swing 14: home run (No. 8)

From this point on, he was down to his last swing. In a new rule this year, as long as Walker kept hitting home runs, he was still allowed to swing. Anything less, and it was over.

Swing 15: home run (No. 9)
Swing 16: home run (No. 10)
Swing 17: home run (No. 11)
Swing 18: walk-off home run

With the win, Walker gets a check for $1 million — his salary this year is $799,400 — and a custom-made winner’s chain.

Schwarber, meanwhile, was gracious about the loss, saying: “Walk just went nuts, man. That was amazing to see.”

More Derby: 

Middle Relief: All-Stars sound off on CBA negotiations

Kepner was at media day in Philadelphia yesterday and asked some All-Stars what was important to them in the ongoing CBA negotiations. Here are what a few All-Stars said. 

Justin Verlander, Tigers: “I’m really worried about it, to be frank, because the game is, in my opinion, in a really great place. Viewership is doing great, the fanbases are responding.

“I think some of the changes that were implemented — the pitch clock has been fantastic for the game. I personally don’t love the strike zone, the ABS, but the fans want to see it. We get the calls right and we need to compete with the other leagues that have replay and challenge systems. So I think it’s been a good, seamless transition.

“Ultimately, the game’s in a good place and I would hate to see that get disrupted and lose momentum that we have and the opportunity that we had to continue to grow the sport. I mean, you see the star power that we have and franchise values are (rising). There’s so many reasons why I think a real work stoppage and losing games would be detrimental.”

Nick Martinez, Rays: “I think it’s important to preserve the right to reach free agency, and be able to take advantage of all the hard work that it took for you to get to that point. It’s not easy to do and it seems like every year it gets harder to get to that point.

“I don’t think there’s a direct correlation (between payrolls and winning). You look at the Dodgers and they spend the most money, but that’s not the only thing they do. They have a culture, they have a way of going about their business. They also sign guys that hold themselves to that standard of being absolute professionals and playing the game the right way.

“So yeah, they go out and get the biggest names in free agency a lot of years and we don’t — and we win ballgames, too. So I don’t think there’s a direct correlation.”

Read Kepner’s full story here.

History Lesson: The most amusing Derby of all time?

A side thread on our Home Run Derby live blog led me to think: Which players hit zero home runs in a Derby? It hasn’t happened in quite a while — 2014, when Yasiel Puig asked Robinson Canó’s dad to pitch to him (which was a bad choice — Jose Canó had shut out his own son just two years prior).

But the research led me to something I had to share: The most hilarious Home Run Derby of all time. The year was 1990, and if you want star power, check out the names that participated and what they scored:

Bobby Bonilla: zero home runs
Jose Canseco: zero home runs
Cecil Fielder: zero home runs
Ken Griffey Jr.: zero home runs
Mark McGwire: zero ONE home run!
Darryl Strawberry: zero home runs
Matt Williams: ONE home run!
Ryne Sandberg: wow, three home runs!!!

HOW?!

It turns out there’s a simple answer. The derby was at Wrigley Field that year, and the wind was blowing in … hard. I looked all over for highlights, but all I found was this mysterious clip that mostly features Tony Gwynn talking about candy bars.

Ironically, this disaster might have been the catalyst for the modern Derby. In those days, batters got two “innings” of five outs each, and that was the whole shebang (in this case: five home runs, TOTAL).

In 1991, MLB switched it up to the three-round format. It has evolved a number of times, but we haven’t had anything quite so hilariously low-scoring since.

Anyway, let’s check and see where next year’s Derby is going to b— oh, right. Wrigley Field. Fun!

Opinion: I do not think the All-Star Game is cooked

I stand by my comments in yesterday’s edition that the MLB Draft and Futures Game need fixing, but when it comes to the All-Star Game’s lack of “star power,” well … I don’t get to say Ken Rosenthal’s line very often, so … from my latest column:

(Let’s start with) this hypothetical lineup:

1. Aaron Judge, RF
2. Shohei Ohtani, DH
3. José Ramírez, 3B
4. Nick Kurtz, 1B
5. Byron Buxton, CF
6. Francisco Lindor, SS
7. Ronald Acuña Jr., LF
8. Will Smith, C
9. Jose Altuve, 2B

Now let’s add these nine pitchers for one inning each: Ohtani, Jacob Misiorowski, Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, Zack Wheeler, Chase Burns, Ranger Suárez, Cam Schlittler and Jacob deGrom.

Then let’s put Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Michael Harris II, Brice Turang, JJ Wetherholt, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Elly De La Cruz on your bench, and send our apologies to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Max Meyer and Edwin Díaz (and I’m sure I’m leaving a few off).

Why those players? Because none of them will play in tonight’s All-Star Game. Some haven’t played well enough to make it, of course. Others are injured, and a handful of starters just happened to have pitched on Sunday. But that’s a lot of star power we won’t see at the game.

It raises the question: Is the Midsummer Classic starting to turn into the Some-Stars Game?

There’s an argument for that, sure. But the fans voted in Ernie Clement, so unless you want to ditch that tradition, he stays. (We should not ditch that tradition.)

This isn’t an entirely new issue. In 2011, Derek Jeter drew attention for choosing not to participate in that year’s All-Star Game, citing a desire to rest his calf muscle and help the Yankees in the second half of the season. Altuve must have been paying attention. He hasn’t played in the exhibition since the 2017 trash-can scandal, using similar reasoning: Every year, some previously unreported nagging injury would suddenly require rest over the break (he was actually on the IL in 2023).

For the rest — spoiler: I think the game is imperfect, but still very good — click here.

Handshakes and High Fives

Bryce Harper finally made a statement about a Cameo video he made that FanDuel sent to a gambling addict, saying he was completely unaware of what it was going to be used for.

The catcher who has caught Justin Verlander more than any other tells us what makes the pitcher special.

Patrick Mooney sits down for a conversation with MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong about his career up to this point.

Katie Woo shadowed Dave Roberts yesterday, and the Dodgers manager walked us through all his responsibilities at the All-Star Game.

No longer a “kiiiid,” Mike Trout is now in a new role among his fellow All-Stars: an elder statesman.

Now famous in Japan, the visiting clubhouse cheesesteaks in Philadelphia are a known entity around the league.

The A’s fired longtime pitching coach Scott Emerson.

Most-clicked in our last Windup: Our Day 1 Draft coverage.

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