At least Jeff Passan could admit it.
After Monday night’s electric Home Run Derby came down to the final swing, the ESPN reporter called himself out for sharply criticizing the Derby’s new format.
“passan is a moron,” he tweeted in response to his previous comments.
During ESPN’s “First Take” Monday morning, Passan said the Derby’s new format – which eliminated the countdown timer for a swing-based system – would be a significant downgrade.
“I think it’s (the new format) gonna stink,” Passan bluntly said. “Genuinely, I’m worried about that. Because the whole reason that the timer came in in the first place, is because it felt really slow.
“The timer brought urgency, and the timer brought a countdown and an end. And we’re just gonna see tonight, time between pitches, it’s gonna grind a little bit.”
Instead of players trying to hit as many homers as possible in an allotted amount of time, they were given 20 swings in the first round and 15 in subsequent rounds if they advanced.
While fans were critical of aspects of the Derby – including the broadcast with Will Ferrell and Netflix’s presentation – the new format provided an electric result.
Facing Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the finals, breakout star Jordan Walker silenced the Citizens Bank Park crowd with an epic finish to become the first Cardinal to win the event.
Though he had the third-longest odds to win, Walker hit six homers in a row to become victorious, including three in the bonus round.
Walker used an Iron Man-themed bat for the event, and is enjoying a career-best year after hitting just .215 last season.
He’s hitting .294 with 22 home runs and 74 RBIs, and has propelled the Cardinals to a 50-45 start despite extremely low preseason expectations.
Walker will also participate in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
