2008 Home Run Derby: Tucker Max Watches Baseball

Josh Hamilton circa 2004:

Failure, crack addict, bust, waste of talent.

Josh Hamilton 2008:

First half MVP candidate, Home Run Derby Champion*, Inspiration, Hero.

My cousin, Brad Zak (also a writer on Bleacher Report), texted me from his internship at the New York Post around 10 am the week before the Home Run Derby telling me that he somehow found two tickets to the Derby asking me if I want one.

It being 10am, I of course am still asleep. Why you might ask? Because I am a bum.

So I immediately texted him back at..11:28am, and tell him of course I would, wondering why that would even be a question.

He texted me back telling me he got tickets, but they are in the nosebleeds behind the foul pole in left field in row V—the seats, meanwhile, only go up to Z.

He claims this will test his theory that there is not a bad seat in the House that Ruth had custom built for him so he could hit all those home runs.

I drive up to the Stadium and it only takes me about 25 minutes as there is somehow no traffic.

I will also take this time to note that I am the only person listening to "Keg in the Closet" by Kenny Chesney on this hot, but pleasant enough summer evening in the Bronx. I meet Brad right outside the 161st Street Subway stop adjacent to Yankee Stadium around 5:50.

We go inside around 6:15 and want to try to catch a home run during batting practice seeing as we really did not think any of the righties in the derby were going to hit a 600 foot bomb.

We went to the lower level down in the left field seats, we stand right around the same place Aaron Boone hit that home run in the bottom of the 11th in Game Seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series.

And for those of you wondering why I had to clarify where I was standing, seeing as there really shouldn't be that much question to the words "lower level" and "left field", I must admit that sometimes I need to think about the good times to reassure myself that these dark ages won't last much longer.

We got there in time to see the last two groups of American Leaguers take their hacks in batting practice. We were lucky enough to see Josh Hamilton hit a few 475 foot shots in batting practice, and both got the feeling we would see something special out of him.

The National League then hit, and I took this time to really grasp how much we can take Yankee Stadium and the opportunity to see a game here for granted. I realized that I had not been on time for batting practice since I was maybe six years old.

My cousin also realized we had not been to Monument Park since we were little, a trip we must take before they close the Stadium up for good.

Hanley Ramirez hit a home run to the left field seats and we watch as a guy standing about 10 feet over to our left and in the next section of seats that is raised just a little bit higher than the aisle we were standing in puts his glove up to catch it.

I think he catches it until I see it laying on the ground beneath the feet of a small scrum of people now going for it. I see the ball, look at Brad, and then dive in. Brad follows close behind, more of the kind of guy who thinks things out.

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