I'm not a big Home Run Derby fan. Watching guys blast their favorite kind of pitch over and over into the stands just seems... well, it's repetitive and not particularly entertaining or climactic to me. I enjoy the home run in a game setting, because it's a battle of wits and wills - the pitcher is trying to out-think the batter. There's a battle going on. That's entertaining; that's competition. But, despite that, I have to say that I'm at least a little touched by this year's Derby.
The winner was the unlikely Robinson Cano - someone I don't think I saw anyone pick to win the Derby and certainly not someone I would have picked. He hit a total of 32 home runs last night. But that's not what really stood out to me, or made me smile in a way past Derbies haven't. Cano had his father, Jose, throw pitches to him.
I smile because, in some ways, that's precisely what baseball is all about. Fathers tossing the ball around with their sons, teaching them how to catch, how to hit, etc. More than any other sport, baseball is accessible to all - you go buy a glove, buy a ball and you can play ball. Every son throws the ball with a parent at some point in his youth. That's part of what makes baseball the American Pastime, as they call it, even if the NFL has overtaken it in popularity.
Jose Cano pitched in one Major League game. He won it. It was a complete game win. He never pitched in the majors again, until his son asked him to throw him fastballs for the Home Run Derby last night. Father and son combined last night to make baseball magical for a little while; to live out a dream. Father and son, father throwing balls to his son, the son smashing them. Batting practice, just like in the ol' backyard. Every son has been there. Most fathers. But only one has gotten the chance to do it on such a stage, to win a Home Run Derby in such a fashion.
Congratulations to Robinson Cano and his father, Jose, on winning the Derby. But more than that, congratulations on living a dream last night, on making a memory that resonates across every baseball fan in America, but I know sits most prized in your hearts. Well done, sirs.
NBA Europe?
Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets is planning to take himself to Turkey in the fall to play European basketball if the lockout isn't settled, and has speculated publicly that other stars may do the same.
I'm not really sure about that. The European leagues have always seemed like a last resort for players - guys like Allen Iverson who won't accept a sixth-man role in the NBA, for example. They don't have the pockets the NBA does, and while making something in Europe is better than making nothing during a lockout, I feel like it could damage the players if they're taking lower pay in Europe during the labor dispute here.
This is another way the NBA lockout differs from the NFL: the NBA players can go play in Europe, although not for the money they make here. I'm curious to see if anyone else follows Deron Williams over, but I think that'll become more clear as the lockout stretches on. It's still in its infant stages right now, and if it hits September without any significant work getting done, I think we'll see a shift in attitudes and some stars might have to mull the decision Williams has already made.
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