Madison Bumgarner, Giants ace and Baseball's Dangerous Payload, has already stated his desire to participate in the Home Run Derby. His doing so, I'm sure you'll agree, would be an unleavened good thing. Sure, his lamentably risk-averse manager, who concerns himself with banalities like "winning baseball games," surely won't countenance such a thing, so it falls to us to bend him to the will of the people.
First off, know that Bumgarner, in a setting of leisurely hack-taking, has proved himself capable of these kinds of feats ...
Yes, that 6-foot-5, 250-pound back-country sum buck can park it in a falcon's nest. Since the start of the 2014 season, when Mad Bum's power really started showing up, he's averaged a home run every 15.9 at-bats. That figure nestles down right in between the career at-bat/HR marks of Frank Thomas and David Ortiz. Bigs Hurt and Papi! Let that factoid breathe for a moment.
As well, check out this graph of some notable average exit velocities off the bat this season (screencap via this MLB.com video) ...
Per Baseball Savant, Bumgarner over the last two seasons has tallied 15 balls off the bat that registered 95 mph or greater. He can hit, he has power, and he's ready and willing.
Sure the new Home Run Derby format is more pressurized and puts players on the clock, but surely the man who lorded over the 2014 postseason has the fortitude for it.
Cultural momentum? Bovada.lv has already laid odds on this tantalizing baseball possibility ...
Will Madison Bumgarner be in the 2016 Home Run Derby?
Yes +1000 (10/1)
No -2500 (1/25)
So, yes, the organizational concerns of the Giants are duly noted, but we the people demand to be entertained. On that point, the People's Poll ...
And now, the People's Republic Poll ...
That's more like it. People, Madison Bumgarner versus the Petco Park evening marine layer. There is no other way.
Since there is not in the sprawl of recorded history any such thing as a petition that failed to achieve its aim, please go forth and sign this Change.org petition that calls for Madison Bumgarner, on pain of imprisonment, to participate in the 2016 Home Run Derby.
