Derby Results - Warning track power

As you know by now the big Legacy Home Run Derby was on Saturday, and yours truly was there to compete to help raise money for the Sisters United for a Cure. The SUFAC is raising money for the Hope on Wheels 100; a charity event to raise money for breast cancer research and the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation.

In my post "Home Runs for HOW 100" you learned about my goal to raise a bunch of money for the SUFAC. I immediately received a lot of emails from friends and co-workers willing to donate a few bucks for each home run, and some either gave me a check outright or said they would give a minimum amount no matter what. Well, thank goodness some gave in advance!

I only took two days of batting practice leading up to the derby and went into the contest with no less than six blisters between both hands. I said going in I didn't know if I'd be able to hit one or 21. After not swinging a bat for over 13 years I knew hitting the ball wouldn't be the hard part, but to have the power to get it over the fence was another story. Back in the day when I was 30 pounds heavier and much more muscular than I am now it wasn't any trouble hitting home runs in batting practice. It was a fairly regular thing for me to hit them in games too, which is why doing this contest sounded like so much fun to me.

Well, sadly I fell short by going 0 for 20.

What I did do on Saturday was hit line drives, gap shots and quite a few that fell short right at the warning track. For those who don't know, the warning track is the dirt you usually see in the outfield right before the fence. It is what warns the outfielder as they are running to find the fence quickly in order to avoid injury. I still had my natural swing to pull and hit deep to the opposite field. If it had been a regular game the boxscore would have said something along the lines of a 4 for 5 day with 5 RBI. However, the only hits that counted on this day were the ones that cleared the fence.

I simply didn't have the power. Unfortunately, everybody else struggled too with the exception of the guy who won by hitting 7 home runs. At the end one guy finally hit his second home run to place second, but the kicker was when the promoter flipped a coin to see who would win third place! It was either flip the coin or they may have never hit a homer to break their tie. I thought that was quite funny and appropriate considering all but one guy had a tough day. You expect to see a lot of home runs in a home run hitting contest, but this field was deceptively deep.

Even though I didn't succeed I had a blast doing this home run derby! I met some great guys who have the same passion for baseball, and I even met a USA softball gold medal winner from 1996 and 2000, Jennifer McFalls. One guy recognized me right away because he played baseball after me at McGavock HS, so he and I knew a lot of the same people. Two of the guys still play baseball in an adult league here in Nashville.

To say I am disappointed would be an understatement considering there was $112 on the line for each home run I hit. I tell you - I swung my heart out. My bat speed was great, I made consistent solid contact, but I lacked the power to hit any bombs. All I could think about was how I am letting a bunch of people down and that I am missing a huge opportunity to raise a lot of money. Call me crazy, but it makes me want to hit the weight room just so I can go back next year and crush it. Oh, you better believe I'm going back next year!

So for all those swings I earned zero $$$! However, our saving grace is that a handful of people guaranteed minimum bids totalling $470! How awesome is that? $470! I comfort myself knowing that if I had not done this then a total of $0 would have been raised for HOW 100. Now that would have been saddest outcome.

Here is what I am asking of all those people who were going to donate so much per home run. Please, still give! Each of you had an affordable dollar amount in your head that you were willing to donate to this amazing cause. Please, I respectfully request you still give despite my home run shortcomings. In fact, the winner said we can use his home run total instead! So you can decide to simply give me a specific amount or you can multiply your donation by 7 home runs. Only 11 home runs were hit in total, so you could sweeten the pot and use that figure instead!

Remember, I had commitments up to $112 per home run, so if everybody at least stuck to Stewart's amount we would raise $784+$470=$1,254!!!

Here is a picture of home run derby winner Stewart Roe on the left with me on the right. Stewart is a big dude huh? Look at me compared to him. I have really morphed into a scrawny cyclist!

Well I hope you have enjoyed following my pursuit to raise money for HOW 100, and that you follow through with your checks. I strongly feel each and every one of us can and will make a difference. Lastly, don't forget to dream BIG!