Madison Bumgarner already is an amazingly talented pitcher, but he wants to do something no pitcher has ever done before: hit in the Home Run Derby.
The San Francisco Giants starter actually is a prolific hitter as far as pitchers go, so the notion of him joining the All-Star week event isn’t all that crazy. The lefty has two Silver Slugger awards and happens to own a couple of pretty wild statistics when it comes to home runs.
Bumgarner also made his case by mashing more than a dozen home runs out of Busch Stadium during batting practice Sunday ahead of the Giants’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals, per ESPN’s Buster Olney. One went into the fourth deck, traveling an estimated 460 feet.
But despite Bumgarner’s persistence, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Olney his ace won’t be in the 2016 Home Run Derby.
“No, to be serious, I couldn’t let him do it,” Bochy said. “We couldn’t let him do it.”
Still, that doesn’t mean Bochy wouldn’t love to see Bumgarner in the derby.
“And Bum, he’s convinced he could win it,” Bochy said. “I think he would wear himself down in the first round, he’d try to hit it so hard.”
Bumgarner leads all active major league pitchers with 13 career home runs and has two in 35 plate appearances this season.
Thumbnail photo via Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports Images
