Pitchers announcing their candidacy for the Home Run Derby is the latest trend in Major League Baseball, and St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright officially threw his hat in the ring Tuesday.
After San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner and Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta previously revealed their desire to be part of the contest, Wainwright tweeted about it Sunday:
According to MLB.com’s Nick Krueger, Wainwright confirmed he is serious: “I’m ready if they call. If in fact there was a one-millionth of a chance to get in it, I wanted to let the world know that I wanted to be a part of it.”
The 34-year-old righty has performed well at the plate this season, hitting .261 with one homer and 10 RBI in just 23 at-bats. He has hit seven home runs in his 11-year career.
Wainwright missed nearly the entire 2015 season with a torn Achilles, which he suffered while batting, and Cards manager Mike Matheny is wary about one of his top pitchers potentially putting himself in danger, per Krueger.
“I don’t see a whole lot of good that comes from that,” Matheny said. “It’s the break, they’re going to have fun, but I see somebody falling down swinging really hard. If Waino was in there, he would fall into that category, but he puts on a good show in BP.”
Wainwright said the risk of injury is minimal: “There’s probably more chance of a pitcher going out and hurting himself pitching in a game than hitting batting practice. We do this every day, it’s not like they’re going out there and asking us to go out and do something we don’t ever do. We hit on the field quite a bit.”
Bumgarner, who has 13 career home runs, started the pitcher Home Run Derby trend on June 7, when he told ESPN’s Buster Olney about his intentions. Arrieta followed a few days later.
With support for pitchers in the Derby mounting, Olney revealed on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball (h/t SI.com) that Major League Baseball has considered holding a pitchers-only Home Run Derby, perhaps pitting Bumgarner against New York Mets hurler Noah Syndergaard.
There’s bound to be some interest in seeing Wainwright, Arrieta, Bumgarner and Syndergaard facing off.
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