7/14/26
Professor DW’s two-day All-Star Challenge has come and gone and while the All-Star Game was nothing special, we got one of the best Home Run Derby’s in years and with it a thrilling finish to Professor DW’s All-Star Challenge. While the American League rolled to a 4-0, three-hit shutout win in the game, a seven-way tie for our top spot came down to a tiebreaker and it was Greg Hargrave coming away with the win.
Only one contestant correctly picked Jordan Walker to win the Home Run Derby, which he did in thrilling fashion knocking off Kyle Schwarber in Schwarber’s home park. Darin Arthur was the only entrant to predict that but he did not have Schwarber going far while many others did which prevented him from pulling too far ahead. While he got the winner right, his lead was not insurmountable.
The first hit was again a single while it came down to who would win the game. There were no stolen bases or errors while the AL had the first hit, first run, and won the game. Cody Bellinger won the MVP of the game, meaning that it was an outfielder earning a point for those that correctly chose that.
Greg Hargrave was lights out pretty much everywhere except for the winner of the Derby. He went with 21+ for home runs hit over 440-feet and with 45 total, that was the correct answer. He also leaned heavily on the American League which was the correct call as well. A number of others were in agreement with Greg on the AL picking up the win. What allowed others to catch Darin was the MVP position pick as Bellinger took home the award, creating a large pile-up for the top spot.
We did have to go to the first tiebreaker for the seven-way tie which was total hits and runs in the game. It was a much lower number than usual with four total runs and ten total hits for a grand total of 14. Greg was the only one to not guess over with a guess of seven and that method of playing it safe took him home the win. The second tie-breaker was used for second and third where Jared Kickner took home second for the second consecutive year and Wes Cameron third.
As the grand prize winner, Greg wins two tickets to see the Seattle Mariners take on the San Francisco Giants in Seattle on Saturday, September 18th at 5:10pm and $100. With the second-place finish, Jared wins $50 and Wes wins $25.
Professor DW had another rough showing this year as he whiffed badly on the Derby portion. DW went all in on Junior Caminero but also had Bryce Harper getting to the finals. He also rolled the dice on the first hit being a home run and found himself in too big of a hole with the great performances by the leaders. Another contest and another loss for DW.
elisportsnetwork.com
