True Blue LA - 2014 Home Run Derby: Yasiel Puig hits zero at Target FieldWhere The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2014-07-14T18:56:19-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/56612462014-07-14T18:56:19-07:002014-07-14T18:56:19-07:00Puig continues Dodgers Home Run Derby tradition
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<figcaption>Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Dodgers have hit a total of 10 home runs in seven Home Run Derbies, with half hit by Hee-Seop Choi.</p> <p>Well, that was fun while it lasted.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> outfielder <span>Yasiel Puig</span> hit zero home runs in the first round of the 2014 Home Run Derby, continuing the long-standing tradition of Dodgers not doing anything in the event.</p>
<p>Jose Cano, who pitched to his son <span>Robinson Cano</span> when he won in 2011, pitched to Puig on Tuesday night at Target Field in Minnesota. Puig made seven outs without hitting a ball out.</p>
<p>Hee-Seop Choi continues to be the gold standard for Dodgers performances in the Home Run Derby, hitting five home runs an finishing fifth in 2005. Here are the glorious results of all Dodgers Home Run Derby participants:</p>
<p>1993: <span>Mike Piazza</span>, zero home runs (8th of 8)</p>
<p>1994: <span>Mike Piazza</span>, zero (8th of 8)</p>
<p>1995: <span>Raul Mondesi</span>, two (tied for 6th/last of 8)</p>
<p>2005: Hee-Seop Choi, five (t-5th of 8)</p>
<p>2011: Matt Kemp, two (8th of 8)</p>
<p>2012: <span>Matt Kemp</span>, one (t-7th of 8)</p>
<p>2014: Yasiel Puig, zero (10th of 10)</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/14/5900239/yasiel-puig-zero-home-runs-home-run-derbyEric Stephen2014-07-14T16:13:12-07:002014-07-14T16:13:12-07:00Home Run Derby is here
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<figcaption>Soon. | Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Home Run Derby is here. <span>Yasiel Puig</span> is one of 10 contestants to take part in Monday night's glorified batting practice, including 2013 champion and fellow Cuban <span>Yoenis Cespedes</span> of the A's.</p>
<p>Puig will have Robinson Cano's dad pitch to him. Cano pitched to his son in 2011, when he won the Home Run Derby.</p>
<p>When told on Saturday that the club record in the Home Run Derby is a mere five home runs, and fifth place, by Hee-Seop Choi in 2005, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> manager Don Mattingly had no doubt Puig would eclipse that mark.</p>
<p>"I'm going to predict he's going to break that," Mattingly said. "He'll knock that door down."</p>
<p>Your 10 contestants:</p>
<p>National League: <span>Troy Tulowitzki</span>, Puig, <span>Todd Frazier</span>, <span>Giancarlo Stanton, </span><span>Justin Morneau</span></p>
<p>American League: Joey Bautista, <span>Brian Dozier</span>, <span>Adam Jones</span>, Cespedes, <span>Josh Donaldson</span><span></span></p>
<p>The rules are a bit different this year, with seven outs per round, and a bracket style system that award the first-round winner in each league a bye into the semifinals. Here is the bracket:</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4726836/home-run-derby-2014-bracket.jpg"></p>
<p>Time: 5 p.m. PT</p>
<p>TV: ESPN</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/14/5899787/yasiel-puig-home-run-derbyEric Stephen2014-07-14T12:00:04-07:002014-07-14T12:00:04-07:00All-Star schedule
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<figcaption>Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The focus on the baseball world is on Target Field in Minnesota for two days, with <span>Yasiel Puig</span> on center stage for both days. Puig will be joined on Tuesday by teammates <span>Clayton Kershaw</span>, <span>Zack Greinke</span> and <span>Dee Gordon</span>. Here is your schedule of how to keep track of things for both days.</p>
<h4>Monday</h4>
<p><b>4 p.m. PT - Baseball Tonight (ESPN)</b></p>
<p>This is essentially a one-hour pregame show for the Home Run Derby, in which Puig is one of 10 participants.</p>
<p><b>5 p.m. - Home Run Derby (ESPN)</b></p>
<p>Chris Berman and John Kruk will call the event, with Tim Kurkjian and Pedro Gomez doing interviews on-site during the contest. Before you consider how bad we might have it listening to Berman say "back, back, back" for the 125th time or Kruk say anything, remember that most televisions have a mute button, while the poor bastards at Target Field have to listen to ESPN Radio hosts Mike & Mike call the event over the public address system at the ballpark.</p>
<h4>Tuesday</h4>
<p><b>12 p.m. - All-Star Red Carpet Show (MLB Network, MLB.com)</b></p>
<p>Greg Amsinger and <span>Sean Casey</span> host this event, which consists of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/national-league-all-stars">All-Stars</a> parading though downtown Minneapolis in [<i>checks the sponsor</i>] Chevrolets on their way to Target Field, where they will arrive on a literal red carpet. Heidi Watney will be there interviewing players as well.</p>
<p><b>4:30 p.m. - All-Star pregame (Fox)</b></p>
<p>On field pregame stuff from Kevin Burkhardt, <span>Frank Thomas</span> and <span>Gabe Kapler</span> before the game.</p>
<p><b>5 p.m. - All-Star Game (Fox)</b></p>
<p>Joe Buck is calling his 16th All-Star Game, and will be joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci on the broadcast. On the technology side, something new to watch for on the broadcast is called SideTrax, described as something that "graphically presents the pitched baseball as it travels through the strike zone from a side perspective and also offers a view of the ball as it sails through a virtual 3D strike zone that appears suspended over home plate."</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/14/5898827/all-star-game-2014-schedule-tv-home-run-derbyEric Stephen2014-07-14T08:00:14-07:002014-07-14T08:00:14-07:00Puig's time to shine
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<figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Puig is 8-for-14 with a double and three walks this year at Target Field, but has hit no home runs in Minnesota ... yet.</p> <p>The next two days are set up perfectly for <span>Yasiel Puig</span> to shine on the big stage. If the weekend was any indication, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> first-time All-Star is ready to have fun.</p>
<p>It didn't seem so fun in the third inning on Saturday, when he called home plate umpire David Rackley "stupid" after a called strike three, earning an ejection for saying what manager Don Mattingly called "the magical little words."</p>
<p>That earned Puig postgame ribbing from his teammates, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/pedromoura/status/488193619157733377">including Adrian Gonzalez calling him "numb nuts."</a> But Puig just laughed it off, as he does most things.</p>
<p>On Sunday, a pair of plays stood out. The first came on a lazy fly ball that Puig caught in the most casual way possible.</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://giant.gfycat.com/UltimateAliveAsianporcupine.gif"> <br><font size="-2"><i>GIF <a href="https://twitter.com/ChadMoriyama/status/488440585275985921" target="new">via Chad Moriyama</a></i></font></p>
<p>It might have been that the outfielders were bored, because outside of a pair of singles no other balls were hit by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.gaslampball.com/">Padres</a> off <span>Hyun-jin Ryu</span> to the outfield until that lazy fly by Chase Headley. But that wasn't the reason. Puig caught that with flair <i>because he can</i>.</p>
<p>Because it's <i>fun</i>.</p>
<p>Sure, a play like that may ruffle some feathers - <a target="_blank" href="http://youtu.be/AfkdZ3tXFSs">Lou Brown comes to mind</a> - but it's something that will be tolerated as long as the catch is made. And if not, it will be fun watching people get infuriated over nonsense.</p>
<p>But another play in the next half inning provided even more insight into Puig. Locked in a scoreless tie for a second straight day, with speedsters <span>Dee Gordon</span> on second base and <span>Carl Crawford</span> on first, Puig singled to center field to drive home the game's only run.</p>
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<p>Once Puig realized the ball would make it to the outfield, he was clapping and celebrating all the way down the first base line, knowing he gave his team the lead.</p>
<p>During batting practice on Saturday, Puig was yelling "home run" after every ball he thought was headed for the stands, just having fun. This was a normal day for Puig.</p>
<p>"He'll be fine, because Puig does a home run derby every BP," Ryu said with a smile.</p>
<p>Here he is on the Dodgers plane to Minnesota, along with fellow first-time All-Star Dee Gordon.</p>
<blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<p>Deuces up for the Twin Cities: <a href="http://t.co/vHmrsZQsd3">pic.twitter.com/vHmrsZQsd3</a></p>
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dodgers/statuses/488489587941974017">July 14, 2014</a>
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<p>Look at that face. Puig exudes enthusiasm.</p>
<p>Manager Don Mattingly, himself a six-time All-Star, talked to his quartet of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/national-league-all-stars">All-Stars</a> before the trip.</p>
<p>"I talked to Dee about enjoying it," Mattingly quipped. "Yasiel, I don’t have to worry about him having fun."</p>
<p>Puig will be in the Home Run Derby on Monday night, and he'll start on the outfield on Tuesday. Two days in the national spotlight. No matter what happens Puig will likely be having fun, and we won't be able to peel our eyes away.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/14/5897293/yasiel-puig-fun-all-starEric Stephen2014-07-11T11:48:21-07:002014-07-11T11:48:21-07:00Puig given 6/1 odds to win Home Run Derby
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<figcaption><a href='http://www.dodgers.com'>LA Dodgers</a></figcaption>
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<p>LOS ANGELES -- <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> outfielder <span>Yasiel Puig</span> usually puts on quite a show during batting practice, which is essentially what Home Run Derby is. Puig, one of 10 competitors in Monday night's Home Run Derby at Target Field in Minnesota, was given 6/1 odds to win the event, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bovada.lv/">per the folks at Bovada</a>.</p>
<p>It's hard to argue with the favorite, human behemoth <span>Giancarlo Stanton</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a>, listed at 2/1 odds by Bovada to win the event. Joey Bautista and 2013 derby champ <span>Yoenis Cespedes</span> are also listed by Bovada as more likely to win than Puig, given 5/1 odds each.</p>
<p>The Dodgers have <a target="_blank" href="http://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/7/5859866/dodgers-home-run-derby-history-fail">a terrible history in the Home Run Derby</a>, with Hee-Seop Choi's five home runs and fifth-place finish in 2005 by far the best performance by a Dodger in the event.</p>
<p>The full odds from Bovada:</p>
<ul>
<li>Giancarlo Stanton, 2/1</li>
<li>Joey Bautista, 5/1</li>
<li>Yoenis Cespedes, 5/1</li>
<li>Yasiel Puig, 6/1</li>
<li> <span>Troy Tulowitzki</span>, 13/2</li>
<li> <span>Josh Donaldson</span>, 10/1</li>
<li> <span>Adam Jones</span>, 12/1</li>
<li> <span>Brian Dozier</span>, 12/1</li>
<li> <span>Todd Frazier</span>, 12/1</li>
<li> <span>Justin Morneau</span>, 15/1<br> </li>
</ul>
<p>The 2014 Home Run Derby will begin at 5 p.m. PT on Monday, July 14, and will be televised by ESPN and will be streamed online by MLB.com.</p>
<p>Puig will start in the outfield for the National League in Tuesday's All-Star Game, and will be presented with his All-Star jersey along with fellow Dodgers <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/national-league-all-stars">All-Stars</a> <span>Clayton Kershaw</span>, <span>Zack Greinke</span> and <span>Dee Gordon</span> before Friday night's game at Dodger Stadium.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/11/5891385/yasiel-puig-home-run-derby-odds-dodgersEric Stephen2014-07-08T15:09:02-07:002014-07-08T15:09:02-07:00Puig to take part in Home Run Derby
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<figcaption>Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> outfielder <span>Yasiel Puig</span> will make the most of his first All-Star Game experience, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/486617932969947136">telling reporters in Detroit</a> on <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/kengurnick/status/486618347677556736">Tuesday</a> that <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/BillShaikin/status/486618695595073536">he has accepted</a> Troy Tulowitzki's invitation to take part in the 2014 Home Run Derby.</p>
<p>The Home Run Derby will take place at Target Field in Minnesota on Monday, July 14 and will be televised by ESPN and online at MLB.com beginning at 5 p.m. PT.</p>
<p>Puig is the fifth different Dodgers player to participate in the Home Run Derby, joining <span>Mike Piazza</span> (1993, 1994), <span>Raul Mondesi</span> (1995), Hee-Seop Choi (2005) and <span>Matt Kemp</span> (2011, 2012). The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/7/5859866/dodgers-home-run-derby-history-fail">results were not good</a>.</p>
<p>Puig is hitting .307/.393/.516 with 12 home runs in 84 games this season entering Tuesday, though he went 33 games and 139 plate appearances without a home run for more than a month until his home run on Friday in Colorado. The right fielder had a good sense of humor about his recent power drought.</p>
<blockquote align="center" class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<p>Yasiel Puig isn't worried his numbers will decline by participating in home run derby. "Mine started to go down already," he said, laughing.</p>
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillShaikin/statuses/486618964085075968">July 8, 2014</a>
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<p>Eight of the 10 Home Run Derby rosters <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/7/8/5882237/2014-home-run-derby-rosters-giancarlo-stanton-yoenis-cespedes-yasiel-puig">were revealed on Tuesday</a>, with the remaining two players announced Thursday. Tulowitzki, the National League team captain, will be joined by Puig, <span>Giancarlo Stanton</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a> and <span>Todd Frazier</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a>. Joey Bautista is the captain for the American League squad, and will have defending champion <span>Yoenis Cespedes</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/">Athletics</a>, <span>Adam Jones</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/">Orioles</a> and <span>Brian Dozier</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.twinkietown.com/">Twins</a> on the AL squad.</p>
<p>The format is new this season.</p>
<p align="center"><img src="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4726836/home-run-derby-2014-bracket.jpg"></p>
<p>There will be five participants in each league, and seven outs per round. The top home run hitter in each league in the first round will get an automatic bye into the third round (semifinals). The second round will involve the second and third place finishers in each league facing off. The National League matchup will occur first, with the second place in each league choosing whether to bat first or second in the second round.</p>
<p>In the semifinals, the winner from the first round gets to choose to bat first or second. In the finals, the batting order will be determined by coin flip.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/8/5882069/yasiel-puig-home-run-derbyEric Stephen2014-07-07T11:00:05-07:002014-07-07T11:00:05-07:00The sad Dodgers Home Run Derby history
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<img alt="Hee-Seop Choi in 2005." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/f_fPbVinXPmq1NfL5s5r4Zm89LU=/0x41:1000x708/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/35273340/Hee_Seop_Choi_HR_derby_2005__cropped_.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Hee-Seop Choi in 2005. | <a href='http://www.gettyimages.com'>Getty Images</a></figcaption>
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<p>The year is 2005. America is being rocked to the sweet sounds of Hollaback Girl. Millions wear giant Bluetooth earpieces without being called out for looking like a giant dingus, and Hee-Seop Choi pounds five home runs en route to a 5th place finish at the Home Run Derby. Why do I bring this up? Because it's by far the greatest Home Run Derby performance in Dodger history.</p>
<p>The funny thing is Choi had absolutely no right being in the Home Run Derby. Choi managed to qualify due to the MLB's occasional stab at making three hours of batting practice interesting. 2005 would be an international affair, with each participant representing a different country. Unfortunately, allowing only one player from the United States and the Dominican eliminates about 90 percent of the player pool, so they had to scrounge real hard to fill that fourth and final spot. First the league tried to get <span>Mike Piazza</span> figuring he was "Italian enough"<sup><a href="#fn1" id="ref1">1</a></sup>, but he turned them down since he and the home run derby have some issues. After being left with a choice between<sup><a href="#fn2" id="ref2">2</a></sup> <span>So Taguchi</span>, 53 year old <span>Vinny Castilla</span>, and Choi, Hee-Seop got the nod and the rest is Dodger history.</p>
<p>Four <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> across six different years have participated in the Home Run Derby since its inception in 1985. <span>Mike Piazza</span> twice, <span>Raul Mondesi</span>, Hee-Seop Choi and <span>Matt Kemp</span> twice. These two graphs I feel really capture the history of Dodger batting practice ineptitude.</p>
<p align="center"><a target="_blank" href="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4699597/hrdbydingers.png"><img src="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4699597/hrdbydingers_medium.png" class="photo" alt="Hrdbydingers_medium"></a></p>
<p align="center"><a target="_blank" href="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4699605/hrdbyfinish.png"><img src="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4699605/hrdbyfinish_medium.png" class="photo" alt="Hrdbyfinish_medium"></a></p>
<p>Okay, I lied. Some words are needed to really help fill in this picture.</p>
<ul>
<li><span>Hee-Seop Choi's five home runs are equal to the combined total of every other Dodger.</span></li>
<li><span>Mike Piazza is the only player who participated in multiple derbies without hitting a home run.</span></li>
<li><span>Piazza has 10.5% of the goose eggs put up in <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/kentucky-derby">the derby's</a> 29 year history. If you remove 1990, the year the derby was played with gale force winds blowing in at Wrigley and Ryne Sandberg won with three dingers, he has 14.3% of them.</span></li>
<li><span>The Dodgers second best finish in Derby history came in 2012 when Matt Kemp hit one home run. <span>Robinson Cano</span> hit zero.</span></li>
<li><span>Since the derby expanded to a multiple round format in 1995, the Dodgers are one of six franchises that has never seen a player reach the second round. Only the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.talkingchop.com/">Braves</a> have had more players enter the home run derby than the Dodgers and not have anyone advance.</span></li>
<li><span>Dodgers have averaged 1.67 home runs per derby. Only the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a> at 1.5<sup><a href="#fn3" id="ref3">3</a></sup> per are worse.</span></li>
</ul>
<p>Like most everything else the Dodgers have done in the last 25 years, the Dodgers Home Run Derby exploits consist of a mix of tragedy and mediocrity<sup><a href="#fn4" id="ref4">4</a></sup>. <span>Yasiel Puig</span> has been pushing hard for his invitation to the Home Run Derby, even though he's been struggling over the last month. But hey, even if his hip acts up and he makes a first round exit, at least he's in good company.</p>
<p><sup id="fn1">1. I always love MLBs efforts to pretend the game is more global than it is. Though nothing will quite beat <a target="_blank" href="http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060128&content_id=1302907&c_id=mlb">Dan Haren discovering he's Dutch</a> because they shoved him on the Netherlands roster for the WBC.<a href="#ref1" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">↩</a></sup></p>
<p><sup id="fn2">2. How Taguchi?<a href="#ref2" title="Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.">↩</a></sup></p>
<p><sup id="fn3">3. Bo Jackson and Danny Tartabull combined for three<a href="#ref3" title="Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.">↩</a></sup></p>
<p><sup id="fn4">4. Tragocrity<a href="#ref4" title="Jump back to footnote 4 in the text.">↩</a></sup></p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2014/7/7/5859866/dodgers-home-run-derby-history-failAndrew Grant