Tuesday, July 10, 2001
All-Star Notebook
Gonzalez wins home run derby
By Tim Sullivan
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SEATTLE — Luis Gonzalez has spent the better part of this baseball season in the shadow of Barry Bonds. Monday night, he grabbed the spotlight.
The Arizona outfielder, who has hit 35 home runs but gained only a small fraction of Bonds' headlines, won the All-Star Home Run Derby with typically understated power.
Oakland's Jason Giambi hit the most home runs in the competition (20), but peaked early and failed to reach the final round. San Francisco's Bonds struck the longest blow — 476 feet — but lost to Gonzalez' last-out rally in the semifinals. Gonzalez then defeated defending champion Sammy Sosa 6-2 for the batting practice slugging title.
“I was just trying to keep it simple and not get too excited out there,” Gonzalez said. “But at the same time I felt like a little kid, going, "This is me standing here instead of watching it on TV.' So it is kind of a weird feeling.”
Hitting off his personal batting practice pitcher, Jeff Motuzas, Gonzalez struck five home runs in the first round while Giambi found a groove that produced 14 homers.
“I was thinking that trophy already had his name on it,” Gonzalez said.
Giambi, Gonzalez and Bonds advanced to the second round as the top three finishers in the first round. Sosa moved on because his regular-season home run total (29) was higher than that of Bret Boone (22), who also hit three first-round home runs.
Sosa defeated Giambi 8-6 in the second round. Gonzalez bested Bonds 5-3. Each player was allowed 10 “outs” per turn. Gonzalez beat Bonds with three home runs after his ninth out.
“It's kind of streaky for me,” Gonzalez said. “I kind of like where Barry is at right now, because we are continuing to win games and, at the same time, what I've been doing has not been a distraction to our ballclub.”
NO DAD: Seattle second baseman Bret Boone will be starting tonight's All-Star Game without his father in the audience.
“Bob's blowing me off,” Boone said of the Reds manager. “It's been tough for him. They've been hit hard by injuries. I told him, "You can't worry about it,' but he takes it personal. He cares too much, actually.”
NL STILL ON TOP: Though the American League has won the last four All-Star Games, the National League retains a 40-30-1 advantage in the competition. Despite his recent All-Star success, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre is leery of attaching lasting significance to the outcome. He is opposed to proposals that would give the winning All-Star team home-field advantage in the World Series.
“The most important thing about an All-Star Game is that everybody participate,” Torre said. “It's for the fans and it's to honor the greatest players in the game. When you consider that 90-plus percent of the players on the team are not going to be worried about where the World Series is going to be played, I think it is insignificant to even consider that (suggestion).”
FLOYD DONE: Florida Marlins outfielder Cliff Floyd would like to put his All-Star roster dispute with Mets manager Bobby Valentine behind him.
“I'm done with it,” he said Monday. “Now, I just want to play in the game and enjoy it. I've never had any controversy in my entire career. I've never even charged a mound.”
Complete All-Star coverage from Associated Press
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Gonzalez wins home run derby