Walker joins HR derby

[Futuregm2]

I mentioned in another thread that I talked to an ex-Mlb player today who was taking bats to the AS Game for players his company reps. He wouldn't tell me who, but one of the teams had a "brass" meeting today with the sole subject being one of their players who had been invited to the HR Derby and how to keep him out of it. According to him, most of the teams absolutely hate having a player in the HR Derby and see absolutely no upside.

There is no upside for the player. Risk of injury and in the case of a young player risk of screwing up a swing and routine.

How do you feel now? That was a moment for the ages on the national stage. The rest of the world just got fully introduced to Jordan Walker.

[Wainwrong]

The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby features a total prize pool of $2.5 million.

The payouts are:
Winner: $1 million
Runner-up: $500,000
Remaining six participants: $150,000 each
Longest home run: $100,000 bonus

No upside?

[gocards04]

JWALK!

[cardstatman]

$1,000,000 - Walker's prize for winning the 2026 HR derby.
$799,400 - Walker's salary in 2026

Not a bad night's work!

Walker will be fine... unless he's put on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That would obviously ruin his career.

[Francis Park Thug]

STUPID…..he just gets his swing going this season….stupid move

I agree and it is way to get hurt.

SMH

[ronnie76]

Just for clarification. Anecdotal evidence which shows established major leaguers falling off after participating in the HR Derby is proof it was a bad idea for Walker to participate and will now be ruined but considering anecdotal evidence of established major leaguers improving after participating is senseless? Surely you jest.

[Targaryen]

STUPID…..he just gets his swing going this season….stupid move

Well that post aged well.

[OldRed]

STUPID…..he just gets his swing going this season….stupid move

Ahh, relax GF!! I really doubt 1 hour of trying to hit homeruns will ruin hus swing. Enjoy that we actyally have a Cardinal in there. How long has that been??? Pujols, 2009?? I can't remember anyone since.

The bet is- how many he hits on the ground, then line drives. Not your most prolific home run hitter. More like raw power.

I kind of thought the same thing.

[sikeston bulldog2]

STUPID…..he just gets his swing going this season….stupid move

Ahh, relax GF!! I really doubt 1 hour of trying to hit homeruns will ruin hus swing. Enjoy that we actyally have a Cardinal in there. How long has that been??? Pujols, 2009?? I can't remember anyone since.

The bet is- how many he hits on the ground, then line drives. Not your most prolific home run hitter. More like raw power.

I kind of thought the same thing.

He was awesome last night. Very few to any bad swings. I think he pulled everything but one to right.

Face of the franchise.

[dhsux]

Well I have not watched many of these but that was/had to be one of the best competitions in their history.

Mr Walker just so cool....to say nothing of shutting up them Philly fans.

Thank you Jordan!

[Goldfan]

STUPID…..he just gets his swing going this season….stupid move

Well that post aged well.

I never stated that JW couldn’t or wouldn’t hit HR in the derby. My concern was screwing up his swing for the 2nd half.
It was a great show. HE gained attention. But when does tossing meatballs for the sole purpose of hitting HR factor into winning 9 inning games??
They made the comment last night that he was standing more upright for the derby……
I hope he goes back to performing in the 2nd half like he did the first……but JW winning the derby does nothing the Cardinals in the 2nd half
Great to watch….glad he won….I think he gets a bonus for winning….all great. But nothing to do with my original point that we won’t know about until games resume.

[Ronnie Dobbs]

But nothing to do with my original point that we won’t know about until games resume.

We won't know anything, because participating in the home run derby has absolutely nothing to do with how a player performs.

[sikeston bulldog2]

But nothing to do with my original point that we won’t know about until games resume.

We won't know anything, because participating in the home run derby has absolutely nothing to do with how a player performs.

I ask. Seriously. How much different is batting practice. That’s what it looked like to me.

[Goldfan]

But nothing to do with my original point that we won’t know about until games resume.

We won't know anything, because participating in the home run derby has absolutely nothing to do with how a player performs.

I ask. Seriously. How much different is batting practice. That’s what it looked like to me.

As I mentioned earlier, Bonds or AP commented the he looked more upright. There is a difference. And it probably won’t matter. My take was that there’s no upside for the Cardinals in this…perhaps for JW. But I was looking out for the team.
One of the other commentators said he was sore for a week afterwards……

[Ronnie Dobbs]

I ask. Seriously. How much different is batting practice. That’s what it looked like to me.

I'm not totally sure, but I would think that there is a pretty significant difference. And batting practice you're not swinging for the fences constantly. With this you got to warm up and stay warm in order to keep up with those big swings.

But yeah, Jordan mentioned afterwards that he was standing more upright just because he was trying to specifically hit home runs and their lobbying pitches in there at him. I think that's different from regular batting practice, and definitely from when you're facing actual pitching.

Plus, these guys have probably been doing home run derbies their entire life. Jordan knew and could identify what he was doing differently, so why wouldn't he be able to switch back?

Finally, all the available data on these things states that there's no correlation between injury or performance after competing in a home run derby. It's just not a thing. I get it, I think the same thing that it might not be worth hurting himself. But if I'm worried about something that is not true, then I'm the problem and I have to change my way of thinking, not the other way around.

[3dender]

I ask. Seriously. How much different is batting practice. That’s what it looked like to me.

I'm not totally sure, but I would think that there is a pretty significant difference. And batting practice you're not swinging for the fences constantly. With this you got to warm up and stay warm in order to keep up with those big swings.

But yeah, Jordan mentioned afterwards that he was standing more upright just because he was trying to specifically hit home runs and their lobbying pitches in there at him. I think that's different from regular batting practice, and definitely from when you're facing actual pitching.

Plus, these guys have probably been doing home run derbies their entire life. Jordan knew and could identify what he was doing differently, so why wouldn't he be able to switch back?

Finally, all the available data on these things states that there's no correlation between injury or performance after competing in a home run derby. It's just not a thing. I get it, I think the same thing that it might not be worth hurting himself. But if I'm worried about something that is not true, then I'm the problem and I have to change my way of thinking, not the other way around.

From what I understood when Pujols asked him about standing more upright, he implied he was doing it because he didn't have to worry about covering the whole plate like he normally does. He also said he didn't realize he was doing it.

Neither of those factors will recur during the games starting this weekend.