The LSF Dream Home Run Derby.

Man, how boring is the home run derby? Corey Hart got me excited in the beginning, but in reality, I'm just kind of wasting my life watching it. Don't you agree? We watch just in case something cool will happen, but it usually doesn't. Well, on this day with a dearth of LSF sports action, I thought it would be cool to come up with a Dream Home Run Derby made up from 8 players representing the all-time greats on the three LSF MLB rosters. We'll take two players from each team, and then two wildcards. Let the argument begin!

1. Tim Salmon (299 homeruns, 1,016 RBI, and a .498 SLG with the Angels): The Long Beach native isn't really the first name that comes to mind when you think of the Halo Bomb Squad, but there he is at the top. He's #2 all time in RBI, and #2 in SLG for the top 5 homerun hitters on the team. The 1993 Rookie of the Year, 1995 Silver Slugger winner, and 2002 Comeback Player of the year winner has a special place in Angels' lore. Did you know that the King Fish was the first player to ever get a hit off Mariano Rivera at the Major League level? Did you know that Salmon was never selected to the All Star team? In fact, his homerun total is the most of any player in MLB history not to be selected. 2 other quick facts: He leads the Angels all time in walks and his cousin is actress Holly Hunter. What a stellar first pick.

2. Carlos Delgado (336 homeruns, 1,058 RBI, and a .556 SLG with the Jays): The Puerto Rican native has an overall career HR mark of 473 with over 1,500 RBI and 2,000+ hits. The two time All Star (2000, 2003), and three time Silver Slugger also had a single game back in 2003 where he busted 4 jacks. He is the Jays all time leader in jacks, RBI, walks, Ks, SLG %, OPS, runs, total bases, doubles, runs created, and even hit by pitch. In the later stages of his career, he's become more well known for his social activism, but he's a slugger who would be rad to have in his prime in our dream derby.

3. Duke Snider (389 homeruns, 1,271 walks, and a .553 SLG for the Dodgers): The Doyers provide us with the only Hall of Famer in our derby. I think most of you will be shocked with actually how great Snider was. The LA native was selected to the All Star team 8 times, and finished his epic career with .295/407/1,333 numbers. Despite never winning the MVP, he finished top 10 in voting 6 times. Here we go: He has the Dodger record for most IBB in a single season (26), he is the only player in history to hit 4 homeruns or more in two different World Series, and he is one of only two Major Leaguers to collect 1,000+ RBI in the decade of the 1950's (the other will be coming up later in our derby lineup). In addition to being the Doyer career leader in homeruns, he also leads in RBI and extra base hits. A very interesting story for "The Silver Fox" comes from the 1955 MVP race. A sickly Philly voter placed Snider's teammate Roy Campanella in spots 1 and 5 on his ballot (a writer from each city votes for 10 players). It was assumed that he meant to put Campanella and Snider, but put Camps twice instead. Unable to get clarification, the MLB had to make a decision. If they would have disallowed the ballot, Snider would have won the MVP. If they would have counted Campanella as first and Snider as fifth, Snider would have won the MVP. Instead, the MLB chose to count Campanella as #1 and then have #5 be blank, thus denying Snider his possibly rightful award. Amazing. He is truly the prime guy in this group.

4. Garret Anderson (272 homeruns, 1,292 RBI, and a .469 SLG as an Angel): My second favorite Angel all time (second only to the greatest bald Mormon in history) is clearly one of the Halos' GOATs (Greatest of All Time), and that makes him an easy choice for our dream derby. The LA native is a 3 time All Star, a 2 time Silver Slugger, and the 2003 All Star MVP and Home Run Derby winner. He is the Angels' franchise leader in ABs, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, grand slams, extra base hits, career RBI, single game RBI, and consecutive games with a RBI. After being drafted by the Angels in 1990 (4th round pick) he worked his way up and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1995 to Marty Cordova of the Twins (exactly). He broke 90 RBI and 20 HR five times with the Angels, and in 2000 he became one of only 7 MLB players to hit over 30 jacks in a season and finish that season with more homeruns than walks (35 and 24). After finishing 4th in MVP voting in that blessed year of 2002, GA became the only player outside of Cal Ripken Jr to win the All Star MVP and homerun derby in the same year. And believe it or not, the player who was second in the Majors in hits between 1997-2003 (behind Jeter), is now a Dodger. 

5. Vernon Wells (211 homeruns, 774 RBI, and a .473 SLG with the Jays...and counting): Wells is the only player on our list still playing with his original LSF team. And yes, he's second all time in homeruns for Toronto. The three time All Star with three Golden Gloves and a Silver Slugger holds the honor of a three homerun game back in 2006. In 2003 he finished 8th in AL MVP voting after a season of .317/33/117 play. Did you know that Vernon Wells' father was a CFL player? Did you know that homeboy hit .556 in his senior year of high school and had a chance to go to UT Austin to play baseball and wide receiver on the football team before he entered the draft? He may not have impressed you in yesterday's derby, but he's a solid choice.

6. Gil Hodges (361 homeruns, 1,254 RBI, and a .553 SLG as a Dodger): An eight time All Star, 3 time World Champion, and 3 time Gold Glover, Hodges was one for the ages. In 1950, he hit 4 homeruns in a single game and he finished with 370 for his career. Upon retiring, he ranked second in assists and double plays to show he wasn't just an offensive talent. To continue to show his multiple talents, he managed the New York Mets to a World Series title in 1969, which is considered one of the greatest upsets of all time. In 1949, just his second year, he drove in the only run in the Dodgers' only win in their World Series against the Yankees, and added a three run job in a game 5 loss. When he hit four jacks back in 1950 in a single game, he was just the second player to do it since 1900 without the help of extra innings, and his 17 total bases in that game ranks third all time in history. He would finish that season 8th in MVP voting, getting 32 jacks and 113 RBI. In 1951, he became the first Dodger to hit 40 homeruns in a season, and would hit 42 just 3 years later. He is famously recognized as the only Dodger to never be booed at Ebbets Field (their home park), even when he went 0 for 21 in the '52 World Series. That started one of the most difficult slumps in MLB history, prompting one Catholic priest (Father Herbert Redmond) to give the following homily at St. Francis' Roman Catholic Church: "It's far too hot for a homily. Keep the Commandments, and pray for Gil Hodges." He never slumped again.

7. Eric Karros (270 homeruns, 976 RBI, and a .457 SLG with the Dodgers): The New Jersey native finished his career with 284 bombs, 1,000+ RBI, was the 1992 Rookie of the Year, and the 1995 Silver Slugger. The former UCLA grad also finished 5th in MVP voting in that 1995 year, is the Dodgers career sac fly leader, is the "Los Angeles Dodgers" career homerun leader, is the career homerun leader for players born in New Jersey, and has the second most homeruns for any player never selected to an All Star team (behind the aforementioned Tim Salmon). 1999 should be considered his finest year with the Doyers, as he went .304/34/112, and after years of trade rumors, he was finally dealt in 2002 along with Grudzielanek to the Cubs for Todd Hundley and Chad Hermansen. Sadly, he was dropped off the Hall of Fame Ballot after his first year of eligability, getting just 0.4% of the vote (you need at least 5% to stay on). With a career like that, I think we can forgive his recent FOX announcing, right?

8. Brian Downing (222 homeruns, 846 RBI, and a .441 SLG with the Angels): Downing was an Angel for 12 years, and made the All Star team just once (1979). He is the model of hustle, and was one of the first baseball players to engage in serious weight training. In that 1979 year, he hit .326, good enough for third in the AL. From 1982-1988, Downing hit 20+ homeruns in 6 of his 7 seasons, making the LA native a fan favorite at the Big A. During his playing years, he even made a guest appearance on "The Jefferson." When his career with the Angels came to a close, he was the franchise leader in games, at bats, hits, total bases, doubles, HR, RBI, and BB. In 2009 he was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame with Chuck Finley. He would finish his career with 275 homerune and 1,073 RBI. Did you know his final MLB hit came off of Angels great Bert Blyleven?

So, there you have it. My "Dream Home Run Derby" compiled from the all-time rosters of the three LSF MLB teams. I don't really think there is much of an argument 1-6 (1-7, really), but you can take me to task on 7 and 8 if you'd like. 

Other players I considered:

+Joe Carter (203 homeruns, 736 RBI, and a .473 SLG with the Jays).

+Roy Campanella (242 homeruns, 856 RBI, and a .500 SLG with the Dodgers).

+Troy Glaus (182 homeruns, 515 RBI, and a .497 SLG with the Angles).

+ George Bell (202 homeruns, 740 RBI, and a .486 SLG with the Jays).

+Ron Cey (228 homeruns, 842 RBI, and a .445 SLG with the Dodgers).

+Vladimir Guerrero (173 homeruns, 616 RBI, and a .546 SLG with the Angels).

+Jesse Barfield (179 homeruns, 527 RBI, and a .483 SLG with the Jays).

If you think I missed the mark on my 8, or maybe didn't even consider someone who was deserving, let the debate begin.

-- Sent from my Palm Prē