FINALS BABY! #PLAKATA 💥 pic.twitter.com/HO2Wk8J9aI
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 9, 2019
Should have figured the Polar Bear would defeat the Canadian-born Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2019 Home Run Derby in Cleveland. Pete Alonso (New York Mets) edged out Guerrero 23-22 in the final round. Guerrero had a record 91 home runs vs. 57 for Alonso. The one with the most HRs often does not win.
Guerrero hit an individual record 29 HRs in a round in the first round over Matt Chapman (Oakland) 29-13. He matched the 29 total in the second round against Joc Pederson (Los Angeles Dodgers). The sluggers then hit 8 home runs in the first tiebreaker, 1 in the second tiebreaker, and finally Guerrero won 2-1 in the third tiebreaker.
The previous individual record for a round was 28 by Josh Hamilton (Texas).
Even though Guerrero didn't win the crown and the $1 million jackpot, his semifinal round win was the best part of the night. Maybe that will be worth an extra ESPN telecast in the second half.
Guerrero was the fourth Canadian-born player to participate in the home run derby along with Larry Walker, Jason Bay, and Justin Morneau. No Blue Jays hitter has ever won the derby with Alex Rios losing 3-2 in the final round in the 2007 derby to Vladimir Guerrero Sr.
Marcus Stroman was there for the introductions, the closest the Blue Jays got to the actual All-Star Game. Stroman supported Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in his Home Run Derby quest. He was the only Blue Jays player on the 2019 American League squad at the 2019 All-Star Game in Cleveland. Stroman hasn't pitched since suffering a left-shoulder pectoral cramp against Kansas City on June 29.
Mike Soroka (Atlanta) only needed 10 pitches to get through a scoreless 6th inning for the National League. Soroka, a Calgary native, is 9-1 in his second year.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. brings a lot of excitement to Toronto Blue Jays
The 2019 Toronto Blue Jays have been a lot about trying out infielders as outfielders. The early season trades of Kendrys Morales and Kevin Pillar have opened the doors to experimentation.
The shuttle to Buffalo has featured a few names we weren't expecting to see a demotion: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez, Billy McKinney, Socrates Brito (via San Diego). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio started in Buffalo and remain in Toronto. Bo Bichette won't be too far behind.
Centre field has been a challenge since the Kevin Pillar deal to San Francisco opened up the position. Randal Grichuk has taken most of those duties, opening up right field. The Giants traded infielder Alen Hanson, and right-handed pitchers Derek Law and Juan De Paula to Toronto.
Ken Giles has been a pleasant surprise on and off the field after coming over from Houston.
The Blue Jays under Charlie Montoyo are ready in a era of supersubs. They have multiple players who can play multiple positions. Gurriel, Biggio, Brandon Drury, Richard Urena, and Eric Sogard will lead the way.
The Blue Jays are at 34-57, 24½ games behind the New York Yankees for 4th place, 6 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. Toronto is 16-27 on the road while 18-30 at Rogers Centre. The Toronto start is the third-worst in franchise history: the team went 16-42 in 1981 and 29-64 in 1979.
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Calgary native and country music star Lindsay Ell performed O Canada, which was seen on Rogers Sportsnet. MLB on Fox continues to embarrass itself and MLB by refusing to carry the Canadian national anthem during the All-Star Game.
MLB and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred refuse to do anything about Fox not showing O Canada during its All-Star Game coverage. You can learn more on the history of the frustration behind the yearly act.
Ell also sang the Canadian anthem at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game.
Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez called the MLB international feed for the All-Star Game.
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The excitement in the next few weeks among pundits is where Marcus Stroman and possibly Aaron Sanchez will land. The stalwarts of the starting pitchers have been promoted for which rich team will get them. The Blue Jays have benefited from their performances on the mound and expertise in the dugout.
In this era, teams in Toronto's position aren't likely to come close to getting the proper value for such coveted arms. The J.A. Happ deal from last summer is a good example. Nothing personal to Billy McKinney and Brandon Drury, but Happ has more value to the New York Yankees than the players traded to Toronto.
The Yankees recently acquired former Blue Jays player Edwin Encarnacion from Seattle. Encarnacion was leading the American League in home runs yet Seattle got virtually nothing for him.
Stroman and Sanchez might be worth trading if real value comes back to Toronto. The pundits won't see it that way since they only think about the contenders, not the pretenders.
CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage
The Toronto Blue Jays start out east after the All-Star Game break. Toronto will be at Yankee Stadium Friday night and weekend afternoon games. The road trip goes to Fenway Park in Boston with Monday-Wednesday night and a Thursday matinee. The Tigers are the final destination with Friday-Saturday night games and a Sunday day game.
Your MLB Extra Innings free preview might not get a single Toronto Blue Jays feed.
Twitter capture: @BlueJays
photo credit: TSN
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