Houston Astros: The way to make the Home Run Derby even better

Houston Astros third baseman, Alex Bregman, was knocked out in the first round of the Home Run Derby. Bryce Harper took home the hardware. However, there’s a way to make this event even better.

What a night last night was. It was the first time the Houston Astros have had someone competing in the Home Run Derby since Lance Berkman in 2008. While Alex Bregman might’ve not been the most obvious choice, he performed admirably.

Bregman was matched up against Kyle Schwarber of the Chicago Cubs in the first round. The two players have very different approaches at the plate. Schwarber goes for the moonshot, long bombs. Bregman is more of a line drive hitter that pushes balls out of the park. Schwarber went first and it was pretty obvious early on that this was going to be a battle.

Schwarber launched some huge bombs and ended up getting the 30 seconds of bonus time. He crushed 16 homers in the round. Turns out, Schwarber would need those 30 seconds in order to advance. Bregman lost by one home run in an absolute heartbreaker. His last shot hit the top of the wall and left him at 15 homers.

Schwarber would go on to put on another battle against Rhys Hoskins. It would be another battle the Schwarber would win to go on to the finals where he would face off against the hometown man, Bryce Harper. Harper would win a classic Derby final.

The third baseman for the Houston Astros showed up and showed out. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make it beyond the first round. However, a change in format could’ve allowed the Houston Astros to be more competitive. A change in format that could make this event even more exciting than it already is.

The way to boost the Home Run Derby

Having Bregman in the Home Run Derby was awesome. However, there are plenty of other Houston Astros I’d love to see compete as well. Unfortunately, the Derby is becoming less and less popular for players to want to compete in.

There are lots of theories that the Derby jacks up your swing for the rest of the season. Depending on who you look at, that could be true. Perhaps it’s why guys like Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, or even George Springer didn’t want to compete. But, I think there is a way to get guys like that back in the competition.

This thought occurred to me after watching the other Houston Astros All-Stars rally around Alex Bregman.

When your boys hype you up to go talk to your crush. pic.twitter.com/oOOgHH4Y2h
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 17, 2018

The camaraderie between teammates really got me hype. It’s really cool to see teammates rally behind one another in a league-wide event. So, it got me thinking… what if teammates competed together in the Home Run Derby?

Imagine this. A wrestling-style tag team Home Run Derby. You take two players from the same team and they compete together. Instead of timeouts, you have tap outs. To take a break a player steps out of the box and taps in his teammate who begins to mash. Perhaps you add a little more time, say five minutes, to allow for changing of the batter.

More from House of Houston

It might sound crazy but, it could work. Allowing stars to pair up with a beloved teammate could take the Derby to new heights. Picture what the Houston Astros could field in an event like this. Bregman tapping out and bringing in Springer to the plate. Or you pair off Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis. Or any combination of those four. Maybe even throw in Jose Altuve for good value.

Heck, imagine what other teams could field in an event like this. Stanton and Judge would be quite the show in a tag team derby. JD Martinez and Mookie Betts would be another exciting duo. Harper and Anthony Rendon would provide a ton of pop. Maybe even Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig could compete.

The possibilities are endless. Players wouldn’t have to rely solely on their bat, thus less of a strain on their swing. It would also allow more players to compete in the competition which would add more fanfare. A tag team home run derby would be absolutely incredible.

Next: Four players snubbed from the All-Star game

Commissioner Manfred, I hope you’re listening. This would be amazing and make this awesome event even more legendary. Make it happen so we can see a duo of our Houston Astros compete against other powerful duos across the league.

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