When Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano received an invitation to participate in this years Home Run Derby, the All-Star was surprised and excited.
He did not think twice about it. Cano accepted the invitation and had every intention of participating. Then the Yankees stepped in. The problem however is that it seems the Yankees stepped in without Cano knowing.
When it became public knowledge that Cano would be a participant in the home run hitting challenge, Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long became concerned. Long made it known to the media that he would prefer Cano not participate. The batting coach stated the derby puts an exhausting strain on your body and could do damage to a players swing.
Yes, there are plenty of examples of players going down hill after participating in the Home Run Derby. Just last year we saw six of the eight participants numbers drop in the second half of the season. Detroit Tigers Brandon Inge who hit 21 home runs in the first half, hit just six in the second half. Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres hit 16 home runs in the second half after belting 24 before the All-Star break.
In 2008, Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman had a monster first half in which he hit .347 with 22 home runs. After participating in the derby, Berkman hit just .259 with seven homers in the second half of the season.
Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau had participated in the home run derby twice in the past four years and both times his second half numbers dropped drastically.
One of the more well known examples of this is Mets third baseman David Wright in 2006. The star third baseman batted .316 with 20 homers in the first half and participated in the home run derby, finishing second overall. In the second half of the '06 season, Wright batted .305 but hit just six home runs the rest of the year.
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