Can Ronald Acuna Jr. become the first Atlanta Braves Home Run Derby winner?
The first official Home Run Derby took place in 1985 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, with a member of the Atlanta Braves representing the National League.
It’d prove to be the first of many Atlanta Braves performances in the Derby that came up short of the crown.
1985
Dale Murphy was not far removed from back-to-back NL MVP trophies when he became the first Atlanta Braves player to take part in the Home Run Derby. Unfortunately, his 4 home runs were two shy of Cincinnati’s Dave Parker.
1987
Ozzie Virgil, Jr. was the face of the Atlanta Braves in the Derby of ’87, but like Dale Murphy two years before him, Virgil, Jr. came up short of the title. His two home runs weren’t enough to beat the Cubs’ Andre Dawson.
1993
A five-year drought of Braves Derby participants came to an end in 1993 when David Justice took his swings at Camden Yards, but his two home runs were far short of title-worthy. (It’s okay, Braves fans, remember Justice hit a much more important home run two years later).
1994
If fierce nicknames are helpful to Home Run Derby success, then maybe El Abusador is in luck. After all, in 1994, it was Fred McGriff – the “Crime Dog” – who led the National League with 5 homers, though that number wasn’t enough to top the kid from Seattle who wore his hat backwards.
1997
Chipper Jones – batting in the same American League stadium he had played World Series games in two years prior (and the same stadium where this year’s Derby will take place) had a modest 3 home run performance at the ’97 Derby (though every National Leaguer looked modest compared to Larry Walker’s 19!)
1998
The 1998 Derby field was the first Derby to feature not one Brave, but two! However, both Javy Lopez (5) and Chipper Jones (1) failed to come close to putting up huge numbers, even with the friendly mile-high air at Coors Field.
2000
Chipper Jones found that third time was not actually a charm when he competed in the 2000 Home Run Derby (he hit just two bombs), though Atlanta fans at Turner Field delighted in getting to watch their hometown hero in the event anyways.
2003
Gary Sheffield broke a two-year dry spell when he represented the famous 2003 powerful Atlanta Braves lineup in the Derby, though that power was somewhat lacking in the competition, as his 4 homers were not enough to make it past the first round.
2005
Like Gary Sheffield in 2003, Andruw Jones was having a terrific season with the bat in 2005, but it did not translate to Derby success. Andruw’s 5 homers did not make it past the first round of the Derby, though he still hit 51 for the season, so there’s that.
2017
If you didn’t catch the huge gap in the timeline, the Atlanta Braves went 11 years (11!) without representation in baseball’s Home Run Derby. The man to break the cold spell? Freddie Freeman…who strutted his stuff in the newest against-the-clock format of the Derby with 12 home runs in the Quarterfinals…but it wasn’t quite enough to edge Bryce Harper, who had 13.
In summation…that’s 10 times the Atlanta Braves have had a participant in the Home Run Derby.
They are 0-for-10…with none even especially coming that close.
Can El Abusador live up to his name and become the first?