Joc Pederson Comes in Second At Best Home Run Derby Ever

That was fun. That was so fun. I don’t think anyone could argue that MLB’s new timed Home Run Derby was anything other than a smashing success, because that was just a different event than we’ve seen in recent years. The bloat was gone. The excitement was in. This format was great, and I imagine it’s here to stay.

It helped, of course, that Great American Ballpark is known for being a hitter’s haven. It helped that the hometown boy Todd Frazier (go Jersey!) won it on a last-second walkoff. And it certainly helped that Joc Pederson hit bombs, 39 of them, to beat Manny Machado and Albert Pujols before falling to Frazier in the  end:

.@yungjoc650, what did that baseball do to you? #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/AoZRNz4qGu

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 14, 2015

I don’t even care that he lost. (Imagine caring, I mean, truly caring, about the outcome of something fun like this?) This was so much fun. Well done, Joc. Well done, baseball.

The old format was a cup of lukewarm tea, and this new one is like eating Folgers out of the jar with a spoon. — Grant Brisbee (@mccoveychron) July 14, 2015

Yep. Yep.