Remember all that talk about Madison Bumgarner partaking in the Home Run Derby -- or of the possibility of a pitcher-only spin-off? Turns out that chatter isn't going away.
According to Jayson Stark, the league and union both talked about ways to include pitchers. Here's what union head Tony Clark had to say about the whole thing:
Clark said that once Bumgarner and other pitchers expressed interest in participating, the union and MLB talked about ways to incorporate pitchers into the event.
But eventually, they just ran out of time to settle on all the changes to "the processes and protocols" that would have been necessary to make that happen.
Stark also reported that Jake Arrieta, Adam Wainwright, and Jose Fernandez were among the pitchers interested in taking part in a pitchers' Derby -- with Arrieta even talking with Cubs management and ownership to make it happen.
Obviously neither idea came to pass this year, but there seems to be enough optimism on both sides to forecast that some kind of pitcher-hitting contest will be in place by the 2017 All-Star Game. Enjoy, Miami.
