Baltimore Orioles’ Mark Trumbo bows out in the semis

Mark Trumbo of the Baltimore Orioles was the top seed in the 2016 Home Run Derby at the MLB All-Star game, but bowed out in the semi-finals.

Mark Trumbo of the Baltimore Orioles knew that the competition was going to be stiff in the 2016 Home Run Derby at the MLB All-Star game. Heck, with Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton in the competition (the eventual champion) it was almost a race for second place if anything. Trumbo bowed out to Stanton in the semi-finals, but he certainly ended up with a strong showing.

Trumbo was the only participant to hit the scoreboard at Petco Park. He also hit a couple of balls onto rooftops in the stadium complex. It’s interesting to note that the Orioles were just in San Diego two weeks ago at the beginning of their west coast trip. So maybe that helped Trumbo to get familiar with the confines.

As I said above, you knew that the competition would be stiff with Stanton in the sweepstakes. I’m reminded of the one year at the NBA All-Star game when Larry Bird walked into the locker room before the three-point contest and wondered aloud who would be placing second. Obviously the implication was that Bird (who incidentally is my favorite NBA player of all time) would be placing first – which he did. Stanton didn’t say anything along those lines, however everyone knows the type of hitter he is.

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Trumbo launched 16 home runs, including eight straight, to get to the semi-finals, where he hit 14 to Stanton’s 17. Trumbo’s longest home run of the competition was in the first round, and it traveled 479 feet. Not too shabby if you think about it.

Obviously the only concern from the Orioles’ standpoint is that somehow participating in this messes with Trumbo’s swing in some manner. While it’s rare for a slugger to totally fall off the map in the second half, sometimes that can in fact happen. My personal opinion is that the whole concept of potential injury or messed up mechanics as a result of particiating in all-star festivities is overblown.

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At the end of the day however, athletes are very particular about mechanics so maybe there’s something to that. While I certainly do understand that in many cases players might prefer to get the couple of days off during the break and that many coaches would prefer that they do also, I tend to think that if I were an athlete I’d see it as an honor to be a part of the all-star festivities. But hey, that’s just me!

Next: Baltimore Orioles: Chris Tillman finishes the first half strong

Trumbo and the rest of both his Orioles and American League teammates will now turn their attention to the all-star game itself. First pitch is this evening at 7:30 EST.