The Home Run Derby is just over a month away and Major League Baseball fans already know a few players who won’t be participating.
Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts voiced a strong “hell no” when asked if he had any interest in the event, while J.D. Martinez also said he wouldn’t attend, saying the league “didn’t want him” to participate back in 2015.
New York Yankees’ right fielder and 2017 Home Run Derby winner Aaron Judge joined Boston’s duo, saying there’s “no need” for him to do it and the MLB won’t change his mind. Meanwhile, Giancarlo Stanton is rumored to not be interested as well.
Pretty powerful words coming from some of the league’s best home run hitters, and MLB reportedly is concerned the field won’t be as “star-studded as usual,” writes FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman.
It makes sense if the MLB indeed is worried. Without names like Betts, Martinez and Judge not even remotely interested, they’ll need to find a player who entices fans to want to watch the Home Run Derby. And with last year’s event essentially marketing itself when Judge and Stanton battled it out for the top spot, they already seem to be in a tough spot.
