The Home Run Derby may not be in the same amount of peril as the Slam Dunk Contest in terms of superstars refusing to compete. But it will once again be without the biggest slugger in the game this year in New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge.
Judge famously hit 62 home runs in 2022 and also smashed 58 dingers last year as part of his American League MVP campaign. This season he’s already hit 21 home runs through 61 games as the most popular and prolific power hitter in the game. He’s also leading the major leagues in hits, batting average (where he’s incredibly batting above .390), on base percentage, and slugging percentage.
But Aaron Judge has only competed in one Home Run Derby in his career and that was all the way back in his rookie season of 2017 when he won the competition.
However, Judge confirmed to Newsday this week that he would only ever consider taking swings in the Home Run Derby again if it was held in New York.
The Home Run Derby hasn’t faced the same crisis as the Slam Dunk Contest, where things have gotten so desperate that the NBA has relied on G-League player Mac McClung to carry the exhibition in winning it the last three years and a slew of rookies and unknown players have largely filled out the participants.
At least in the MLB showcase event, several all-stars have routinely competed over the years. The list of recent winners include Bryce Harper, Pete Alonso, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Juan Soto. But ratings have slowly slid backwards with last year’s edition featuring the smallest audience since 2014 at 5.45 million viewers, although it did have competition from the Republican National Convention.
Neither Aaron Judge nor Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani (who last competed in 2021) are likely to participate, which is a bummer for Major League Baseball and its fans. But players can be very particular about taking part in the Home Run Derby, especially whne it comes to the impact the event could have on their swing and their health. If it preserves Judge and Ohtani to continue their incredible on-field success throughout the regular season, maybe it will be worth it in the long run.