Brewers' successful promotion could result in more alumni home-run derby events
The Milwaukee Brewers had Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and several other former players competing in an alumni home run derby that followed a game with the Miami Marlins last month. The promotion helped draw a sellout crowd of 41,944 fans, with nearly all of them sticking around to watch the postgame event.
Other clubs noticed, too.
'I thought it was a great idea and applaud them,' Arizona Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall said. 'I believe all of us will be considering something similar.'
Brewers manager Pat Murphy is among those already has been conjuring up ways to expand on this idea.
'I think it just opens the door,' Murphy said. 'Can you imagine the Brewers versus the Cubs home run derby — their three legends versus legends of ours. You know what I mean? Can you imagine that happening around the league?'
The Brewers' home run derby occurred 11 days after Seattle's Cal Raleigh won Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby and 10 days after the All-Star Game was decided on a swing-off. With the game tied 6-6 after nine innings, three batters from each league took three swings and Philadelphia's Kyle Schwarber homered three times to give the NL a 4-3 victory.
Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said a half-dozen MLB teams reached out after their alumni home run derby to get information on how well it had worked.
Milwaukee's promotion was part of a 25th-anniversary celebration of American Family Field. Keon Broxton, who played for the Brewers from 2016-18, won the event and recreated Fielder's most famous home-run celebration by standing tall at home while the teammates surrounding him fell back like a collection of bowling pins.
'It was awesome,' Broxton said afterward.
Milwaukee wasn't the first team to do this kind of promotion. The Houston Astros staged their own alumni home run derby events in 2018 and 2019. The Atlanta Braves had an alumni softball home run derby last year.
The format represents a different way to welcome back former players rather than having the traditional Old Timers' Day games from yesteryear. The New York Yankees are holding their first Old Timers' Day game since 2019 on Aug. 9, and the New York Mets are having an alumni game Sept. 13.
But the Brewers' event last weekend generated plenty of national attention, particularly when highlights aired showing how the stands stayed packed throughout the event.
'The guys that were all here, we all said we'd be back for anything like that, whether it's something like what Murph suggested or even keeping it in house and playing a couple-inning game ... maybe guys from 2005-10 against guys from 2010-15,' said Casey McGehee, who played for the Brewers from 2009-11 and participated in the home run derby. 'I think there's a lot of opportunity for some really cool stuff to come from it.'
Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said he didn't get a chance to watch the alumni derby that followed his team's game in Milwaukee, but he liked Murphy's idea about branching it out.
'A big part of the beauty of our sport is how you remember those who played before, the history of our game and had success for your organization or those who made impacts throughout the league,' McCullough said. 'So anytime we get a chance to celebrate those who did meaningful things, I'm all for it."
The trick in putting together an alumni home-run derby is finding the right participants. They must be old enough to have finished playing but remain young enough to still manage to hit batting-practice pitches out of a major league stadium.
The Brewers didn't put up makeshift fences in the outfield for this event to make home runs easier, and the former players' swings weren't leaving the ballpark as often as when they were in the big leagues.
McGehee believes future home run derby promotions could feature more power than what the ex-Brewers showcased last weekend. McGehee said he tried working on his swing before last week's event, but family obligations got in the way.
If he gets another invitation, McGehee expects to be more prepared.
'I think knowing what we know now, the product would probably even get better because we saw how cool that was,' McGehee said. 'I think people would be carving out pretty significant parts of their days to get themselves ready to roll.'
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
49ers DC Robert Saleh brushes off awful outing from rookie in NFL preseason debut
After losing Dre Greenlaw and De'Vondre Campbell in the offseason, the San Francisco 49ers are looking for someone to step up and fil major roles at the position besides four-time All-Pro Fred Warner. San Francisco hoped that one of their best options would be Nick Martin, one of their third-round picks from this year's draft. However, with 2023 sixth-round pick Dee Winters really impressing throughout training camp, Martin appears to be fighting for a rotational snaps. During the team's first preseason game of the year, a 30-9 loss to the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium, Martin was noticeable on the field, but not in the way he wanted to be. The rookie finished the day with five tackles, but his missed tackles were one of the fan base's talking points after the game, and while some are worried about his performance, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh isn't one of them. 'Nick's doing a good job," Saleh told reporters on Tuesday. "Obviously, he's a big-time running hit linebacker, so he just has to learn how to control himself at the tackle point and come together. It's getting his feet underneath him and just get his body on the ball carrier until the speed of the game catches up to him. If that makes sense. But he's young. It was his first real live action in over a year and a half, so we're not concerned with some of those missed tackles. I think we'll get those cleaned up.' Martin, 22, was a three-star recruit out of Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas before committing to Oklahoma State from 2021-24. During his time with the Cowboys, he appeared in 35 games and recorded 203 tackles (24 for a loss), seven sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumbles recovered. He also earned All-Big 12 honors once. Despite the rough first week Saleh believes in the rookie linebacker and knows he has others to lean on in the locker room. "He's in a good place," Saleh said. "The good thing is, he's got a lot of teammates who have had first preseason games that didn't go so well. So, you just put it to the side and find a way to get better. He's going to have another opportunity to do that against Vegas.' A strong final two games in the preseason could earn Martin the top backup spot in the linebacker room, but more performances like the last, and he could be surpassed by Luke Gifford and Tatum Bethune, who both looked solid against Denver. More 49ers: 49ers 7th-round pick makes surprise entry into battle for starting job
Newsweek
23 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Mets' Pete Alonso Makes Retirement Timeline Announcement as Free Agency Looms
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The New York Mets saw Pete Alonso break the franchise home run record on Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves. He could hit free agency next year, and all of the pressure is on the Mets. Alonso has done nothing but produce at a high level since his debut in 2019. Only Aaron Judge has more home runs since then. However, Alonso has a player option after this season, and it would make sense for him to opt out and find a better deal. Alonso has been great this year, and the Mets will surely be involved in his free agency market. He has spent his entire career with the Mets so far, and could finish as one of the best players in franchise history if the Mets can keep him around. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 12: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets tosses his bat after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves... NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 12: Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets tosses his bat after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on August 12, 2025 in New York City. MoreAfter breaking the franchise home run record, Alonso put all the pressure on the team's front office, and also revealed how much longer he is planning to play if the team is interested in making him a Met for life. "I have a goal to play baseball until I'm through my age 40 season," Alonso said, per The Athletic's Tyler Kepner. "And for me, I'm gonna work hard and do that. And you know what? Business side, Steve (Cohen) and David (Stearns), they've got to come through." Alonso is 30 right now, which means he is trying to play at least through 2035. It's unlikely the Mets are going to give him a 10-year deal in free agency. However, the five-time All-Star has no plans of retiring soon. Alonso is already the home run king for the franchise. However, he could end up being one of the all-time best home run hitters in MLB history. If the Mets want to make sure he only ever wears their uniform, it may take multiple long-term contracts. More MLB: Pete Alonso Sends 7-Word Message to Mets Owner, Front Office Before Free Agency
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Pete Alonso Is the Mets' All-Time Home Run King, And He Should Be A Met For Life
NEW YORK — Nearly six years ago, Pete Alonso stood alone in baseball history. On a warm and pleasant late September evening in New York, the Mets first baseman slammed his 53rd home run of the 2019 season and snapped a tie with Yankees slugger Aaron Judge to become the first major league rookie to reach that mark. The record-setting home run capped Alonso's captivating entrance into the big leagues. From being unsure if he would make the major-league roster out of spring training, Alonso won the Opening Day starting first-base job, earned his first All-Star appearance, won his first Home Run Derby, and held the MLB rookie record for home runs. That storied summer was just the start of a special quest, one that laid the early groundwork for Alonso to someday make franchise history. For a prolific slugger like the Polar Bear, crushing 200 more home runs was bound to happen. The moment arrived against Braves right-hander Spencer Strider in the third inning on Tuesday night at Citi Field. After flirting with the possibility for weeks, Alonso finally stood alone as the Mets' all-time home-run king when he slugged his 253rd career homer, surpassing Darryl Strawberry for the most in Mets history. The Citi Field crowd of 39,748 serenaded Alonso around the bases by chanting his name. The dugout emptied as Alonso's teammates spilled onto the field and hugged him after he crossed home plate. Alonso sported an enormous goofy grin for several minutes, including when he stepped on top of a dugout bench and tipped his helmet for the first of two curtain calls he would experience on Tuesday night. "As a kid, you don't really think that it's in the realm of possibility to be a franchise home-run leader," Alonso said after taking a break from sipping his postgame Coors Light. "You just don't. You just want to get to the big leagues and give it your best. The dream is really this opaque and unknown thing. You just want to get there and compete for a World Series and play winning baseball. But to have that opportunity, you really don't think about it. It's a wild dream, to be honest." In the sixth inning, Alonso extended his franchise home-run record by parking his 254th career homer in the left-field seats. The moonshots were contagious. Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Alvarez, and Brett Baty all homered as the Mets snapped their seven-game losing streak by pummeling the Braves in a 13-5 win. In the seventh inning, the team announced it had run out of fireworks "due to too many Mets home runs." The Polar Bear effect. "I've grown up in this organization," Alonso said. "They believed in me as a 21-year-old kid. They've consistently believed in me. Hopefully they continue to believe in me." Though Alonso seemed destined to pass No. 252 from the second he broke into the big leagues — after all, hitting the most homers in Mets franchise history is not a huge record to break, and it certainly isn't Hank Aaron passing Babe Ruth with No. 715 — he almost didn't get the opportunity to achieve it. In his contract year last season, the first baseman hit 34 home runs (a full-season career low) and recorded a .788 OPS (a career worst) in 162 games. On Sept. 22, 2024, the expectation was that Alonso's eighth-inning groundout to third base would be his final at-bat at Citi Field as a member of the Mets. Not even two weeks later, he promised many more. Alonso changed the trajectory of his Mets career with his three-run home run off Brewers closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning of the 2024 National League wild card game. He extended the Mets' season and gave them a shot at a deep playoff run that only ended by virtue of the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in Game 6 of the NLCS. The Mets' magical season was over, but Alonso's contract negotiations were just beginning. By February, Juan Soto was a Met and Alonso still hadn't signed a deal. Reports surfaced connecting Alonso to the Toronto Blue Jays and the San Francisco Giants. Mets owner Steve Cohen said the negotiations with Alonso and his agent, Scott Boras, were "exhausting," adding, "Soto was tough. This is worse." Once the situation reached rock bottom, the only place to go was up. Finally, on Feb. 6, Cohen and Alonso reached a two-year, $54 million pact (with a player opt-out after this season) that made Alonso the highest-paid first baseman in the major leagues this year. It wasn't the long-term deal Alonso was seeking, but it brought him back to the Mets. "Pete's easy to root for. He's the embodiment of the Mets and the fan base," Mets first base coach Antoun Richardson said. "You watch him play, he gives his all every single time." Ask anyone around the Mets what they admire and respect the most about Alonso, and it's the same sentiment. He works hard. He plays every day. He makes preparation a priority. He gives his all. Yet, in Alonso's case, giving the Mets his all might still not be enough to make him a lifelong Met. And as special as his franchise-record-setting home run was, it will always mean more if he stays in New York and keeps adding to that total. Alonso is expected to exercise his opt-out and once again test the Mets and the market this winter. The 30-year-old is earning $30 million this season, and he still wants to lock down that long-term contract. Whether it will come from the Mets front office, which is led by president of baseball operations David Stearns, is anyone's guess. "I have a goal to play baseball until I'm through my age-40 season," Alonso said. "And I'm going to work hard and do that. You know what, the business side, Steve and David, they gotta come through." Alonso was asked if he has an idea of what that final hone-run total could look like if he stayed a Met through his age-40 season. "There's only one way to find out," Alonso quipped. If Alonso doesn't stay in New York, he knows Soto could pass him as the all-time home-run leader. "Records are meant to be broken," Alonso said, but he still hopes his own can hold up for a while longer. Soto, who has 229 career home runs and is tied with Alonso for the team-lead this season with 28, could realistically break Alonso's record in the first half of his 15-year contract with the Mets. If Alonso stays and signs a long-term deal, it could be decades before anyone threatens to crack his home-run total, which could very well be in the 450-500 range by the time he hangs up his cleats for good. Outfielder Brandon Nimmo, one of the few players on the Mets roster who has played with Alonso since his rookie season, wants the slugger to receive what he deserves on a long-term contract. But he also wants that contract to come from the Mets. "I love Pete as a player and I think he's going to do very, very well in this next market," Nimmo said. "But if I was his counselor, I would sit there, and I would tell him: From where you're sitting right now, you're really good. You're the highest-paid first baseman in the league. And if you told Pete Alonso at 18 years old, going to [University of] Florida, that he would end up being the highest-paid first baseman in Major League Baseball — more than Freddie Freeman, more than Matt Olson, more than Paul Goldschmidt. Obviously, back then, it would have been like, more than Joey Votto. He would have been like, 'Yeah! This is going to be great. Sign me up.'" Alonso has talked about wanting to remain a Met for life, and he would retire in Queens if given the opportunity. Now, he has officially put the ball in Cohen's court. Alonso is doing his part by swatting home runs and helping the Mets win games. The slugger indicated on Tuesday that the pressure is on Mets ownership and the front office to re-sign a popular and homegrown player — a face of the franchise — to a long-term contract. The Polar Bear proved he belongs in New York. What will it take for Cohen and Stearns to come through? "It meant a lot, even though he won't say it," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Alonso breaking Strawberry's record. "You watch that face and how much joy he had, especially when he stood on the bench in the dugout and tipped his helmet to the crowd, he's like a kid with a new toy. He was humble. It was hard to describe the face of Pete there. He was enjoying the whole moment. It meant a lot to him." Deesha Thosar covers Major League Baseball as a reporter and columnist for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
