Shining All-Stars
PITTSBURGH — Down to his last few swings in the Home Run Derby and still not assured of being in the final, Ryan Howard remembered the advice Phillies teammate Bobby Abreu gave him.
After all, what better player to ask for guidance than Abreu, whose 41 homers a year ago in Detroit are by far the most in derby history?
"Basically, he told me to pretend that no one else was out there, that it was just Ramon and myself," Howard said, referring to batting practice pitcher Ramon Henderson. "Just get locked in that way. Just take pitches and try not to tire yourself out too early."
Howard, the 2005 NL rookie of the year, couldn't have followed Abreu's suggestions any better in becoming the Phillies' second Home Run Derby winner in as many seasons. Howard topped David Wright of the Mets 5-4 in the final round Monday night despite having five outs remaining when his decisive homer deflected off a "Hit It Here" sign in right field.
Right about then, Howard was nearly as happy as the fan who won 500 free round-trip air tickets because Howard hit the sign. Earlier, Howard found the Allegheny River on the fly behind PNC Park's right-field stands, a feat accomplished only once during regular-season play.
Not only did Howard hit them far — 13 of his 23 homers traveled 440 feet or more — he hit them with great accuracy.
"I'm glad to be here, I'm having fun — I'm loving it," Howard said.
No doubt it helped having Henderson pumping pitches to him exactly where he wanted, just as Henderson did for Abreu a year ago.
"I really didn't have to do a whole lot," Howard said. "It was really Ramon. He put it pretty much to where I could try to hit it to right-center. Some of them, I just kind of got out in front of and was able to hit."
After hitting eight homers in the first round, half as many as Wright, Howard came from behind late in the second round to hit 10 homers and beat out AL home run leader David Ortiz of Boston and Florida's Miguel Cabrera and reach the final round.
There, Wright had trouble elevating the ball to reach PNC Park's distant walls in left field and left-center and finished with four homers. Wright had six homers in the final two rounds following his 16-homer first round, which has been surpassed in derby history only by Abreu's 24 and Ortiz's 17 last year.
"Once you get past that first round, you want to win, so it's a little disappointing," said Wright, whose 20 homers at the break are only the fifth most among the NL All-Stars.
In a major rule change this year, homers from the first two rounds were combined to determine the finalists; previously, first-round totals didn't carry into the second round. That allowed Wright to gain the final despite homering only twice in the second round.
"I liked it," Howard said of the rule change. "It allows you to have one good round and one bad round and not necessarily be punished for that bad round."
Unlike last year, when the Pirates' Jason Bay failed to homer in Comerica Park, each of the eight competitors homered. Troy Glaus of Toronto hit one in the first round, but the other seven hit at least three.
Eliminated after the first round were Jermaine Dye (7) Miguel Tejada (3), Lance Berkman (3) and Glaus.
Here are some numbers from Monday's Home Run Derby at PNC Park, which was won by Philadelphia's Ryan Howard:• Total home runs:87• Home runs by player: Ryan Howard 23, David Wright 22, Miguel Cabrera 15, David Ortiz 13, Jermaine Dye 7, Miguel Tejada 3, Lance Berkman 3, Troy Glaus 1• Home runs in the Allegheny River on the fly: 6 (Howard 3, Ortiz 2, Berkman)• Home runs in the river on the bounce: 10 (Ortiz 7, Howard 3)• Longest home run: 488 feet (Ortiz)• Longest home at PNC Park during a regular game: 484 feet (Sammy Sosa)
