Rookie Henning takes title away from Creighton Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Just one year removed from his fourth straight HR Derby title, Joey Creighton didn't even make the finals as Curtis Henning came away victorious in a showdown with fellow rookie Matt Smith. Joey was eliminated in the second round when he, hitting last, only hit nine homeruns. Both Henning and Smith had hit ten in the round.
Even still, it wasn't as big a surprise as Dave Cain, who one year after wowing the crowd in the most awesome display of power ever, didn't even make it past the first round. In fact, Dave's total of three homeruns (and no roof shots) was the lowest of anyone in the derby. The derby started off with a bang, despite the fact that the #10-ranked man in the league was in it. With Carmichael MIA, and Ian Byrd not available to substitute, the next-best man came to the plate, that being Dean Evans. Dean would go on to hit a surprising seven in the round to start the thing off, including a couple impressive shots to right-center. Jeff Morrison came up next and hit eight out, a very impressive number for him (his previous high was only three). John Deatrick "only" hit five. In all other years, five would have been enough to move on. Not Sunday. Darnell Uhland hit six out, and Matt Smith followed with eight homeruns. Then came Joey Creighton. Joey immediately got dialed in and found another hot streak late in the round to finish with a remarkable 19 homeruns, a new round record. Both he and Dave hit 18 in a round last year. Curtis Henning had to follow that, but held his own, getting the people on their feet with 14 homeruns of his own. Then Dave came up and hit his three, shocking everyone. He seemed to be very unfocused and he swung at all but one of Joey Creighton's pitches, including some ill-advised ones. Yeah yeah, believe it...Joey ain't perfect. Jeff led off the second round (four hitters now) with only two, while Curtis and Matt both hit 10. Joey got going early and at one point had nine homeruns with only seven outs, but he could never get that last one, and for the first time in five years, he was eliminated. Matt won the toss and decided Curtis would go first. Curtis responded with a "disappointing" six homeruns, but he didn't have to worry long . Matt hit the very first ball out, but only two more and finished with three homeruns. Still, it was a very impressive showing for both rookies. Joey had the deepest shot of the derby, hitting the porch in right field, which measured out to 116 feet. In 2002, Dave Cain climbed above 130 feet with one of his roof shots.
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Preview Quite possibly the most popular event of the day thanks to its ability to include eight different players, the Homerun Derby has been a monopoly so far in its existence. We've had four derbies, yet the derby's only had one winner. Joey Creighton has won the crown every single year since its inception, and looks to hit five in a row in 2003.
Jeff Morrison leads things off, and he's the darkest horse in the stable. He's been powering up lately, but he could very well struggle here. Deatrick is similar. He may go on a hot streak, but he'll find it difficult to piece together enough streaks to win. Darnell Uhland was very impressive in last year's Derby, and could once again do well. Matt Smith is a rookie and has never been in this scenario before. He may struggle. Joey Creighton is Joey Creighton. Curtis Henning is more of a "game homerun hitter," but he has all the tools to put up a strong showing. Scott Carmichael is due, to say the least. And Dave Cain hit the deepest shot we've ever seen at last year's Celebrity Derby. Commish Creighton tries to figure out why the Derby is so popular. Take a look. Player/Celeb Picks!
History 2002
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