Creating the Greatest All-Time Home Run Derby Field

Will Hailey picks the eight players from baseball history he would want to see complete in a Home Run Derby

Jul 11, 2024

The 2024 Home Run Derby is almost upon us. Brett gave us his thoughts on ideal 2024 Derby candidates earlier this week and yesterday MLB selected two of his suggested sluggers to round off this year’s field of eight participants. Like it is for many, the Home Run Derby is my favorite part of All-Star Weekend and I cannot wait to see seven of baseball’s best power hitters and Alec Bohm showcase their home run hitting prowess this Monday night in Texas.

We have seen countless iconic players participate in the Derby: Ken Griffey Jr, Frank Thomas, Albert Pujols, and Chipper Jones just to name a few. But what would an ideal Home Run Derby field look like? There are easy historical answers like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, but easy is boring. Plus, the Derby isn’t about showcasing the best players, it’s about showcasing dingers. Here is my sicko-approved all-time Home Run Derby field.

Hee-seop Choi again:

Just Kidding.

Adam Dunn:

It had to be Big Donkey. Adam Dunn is what the Home Run Derby is all about. Real baseball involves things like “defense” and “running”, but the Derby is all about good vibes and big flys. Dunn is the three-true-outcomes hitter that inspired a generation leading the league in strikeouts five times, walks twice, and hitting 38+ homers in eight seasons, seven of which consecutively. With his 462 career bombs he was potentially one full season away from being the “what the hell is a polar bear doing in Arlington, TX” meme of the 500 Home Run Club.

Frank Howard:

While he is not to be confused with the iconic Clemson football coach, baseball’s Frank Howard might very well have been confused for a football player given his staggering 6’7 255 lb frame. A behemoth with big glasses and high socks, Howard brings some much needed aura to this fantasy Derby field. 1968 was “the year of the pitcher”, but nobody told Frank Howard who led the league with 44 round-trippers and followed it up for 40 and 44 the next two seasons. The Senators’ great absolutely belongs in the Hall of Very Good with his 142 career OPS+ and 37 bWAR, but make sure to make a second plaque for the Hall of BIG BOYS.

Dave Kingman:

Kingman is the OG “Oops, all power!” player build. Three true outcomes was one too many for King Kong who specialized in just Ks and four-baggers. Actor Nick Offerman’s favorite player, Kingman went deep 442 times in under 2,000 career games on his way to three all-star appearances and MVP votes in five seasons. He does not quite bring the beef that Dunn and Howard do, but the 6’6 Kingman still looks the part in my theoretical Derby, which is an important in creating the most exciting field of hitters. Hall of Very Good is a little rich for the 70’s slugger, but he is first ballot Hall of Hell Yeah.

Pete Incaviglia:

Here is where we start getting spicier. With the MLB Draft coming next week in conjunction with the All-Star Break, there is no better time to talk about one of college baseball’s all-time greats. Incaviglia spent three years at Oklahoma State hitting a collegiate record 100 career taters in just 213 games. His 48 dongs and 148 RBIs his junior year both qualify under Records That Will Never Be Broken. His power remained when he got to the bigs, but the swing and miss kept him from holding a starting job for much of his career. Inky is an iconic all-time power hitter and first ballot Hall of Russell Branyans.

Mike Hessman:

If you just thought “WHO?!” then shame on you. If my dream Derby has the all-time collegiate long-ball record holder, you better believe it will have the Minor League record holder too. Hessman played in an astonishing 2094 minor league games and went yikkity 433 times. An iconic Richmond Brave of my youth, Hessman received a few cups of sweet tea in Atlanta before spending five years in Toledo where he continued to compile gaudy power numbers without finding much opportunity at the big league level. He spent the rest of his career bouncing around the International League and PCL with appearances in multiple leagues abroad before retiring at 37 with 462 jacks and one appearance in a theoretical Home Run Derby.

Madison Bumgarner:

MLB have been mad bums not putting full-time pitchers in the Derby when it would have objectively been mad fun. Pitchers like Zack Greinke and Mike Hampton may have been better pure hitters, but the Derby is not about hitting it is about moonshots, and few pitchers brought pop like MadBum. He touched ‘em all 19 times in his career, the second most by a pure pitcher since the adoption of the Designated Hitter by the A.L. in 1973. We know what the likes of the Mantles and Aarons of the world could do in a Derby, so let us see what a pitcher could do.

Ichiro Suzuki:

Finally, we will have the answer to the age old question, “could Ichiro have been a power hitter?” The question has produced many a Fangraphs article and even a Foolish Baseball video. The prevailing belief among baseball people is that the elite contact hitter profile was a purely stylistic choice by Ichiro and that his whole career he was hiding prodigious power in his slim frame. He would notoriously show off the pop with a few big daddy hacks in batting practice before slapping singles through the hole during the game. Is arguably the greatest hitter of all time also the greatest power hitter of all time? Now is the time to show us who you really are, Ichiro.

Josh Gibson with an Orange Stealth:

The Negro Leagues are Major! Josh Gibson now holds the highest career slugging percentage of a Major League hitter. His official stats include going mammo 166 times in 602 official Negro League games, leading the Negro Leagues eleven times. His career numbers put him at a ridiculous 162-game pace of 45 goners a season. Legend has it that Gibson went long over 800 times in career if you include his hundreds of barnstorming matchups. Gibson very well could be the greatest power hitter the world has ever seen, but we did not get to see him play because black players were barred from Major League Baseball until just months after his untimely death in 1947. Here is his hypothetical shot to prove all the myths and legends correct in the greatest Home Run Derby of all time.

He gets to use a BESR as reparations.

-WH

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