During an afternoon of competing press conferences, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and players union chief Tony Clark found one thing they could enthusiastically agree upon.
Clark wasted no time countering the notion that the event is waning in popularity among the players, though only two of the game’s top 10 home run hitters at the break agreed to take part in it.
“Before the Home Run Derby [last year], did fans know who Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge were?” he asked. “The answer is yes. After the Derby [this year], more people are going to know Rhys Hoskins, Max Muncy, Jesus Aguilar, any of those guys.