Just prior to last year’s Home Run Derby at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ, I posted a comment over on the ThinkBlueLA.com forum in which I said that Matt Kemp was not a home run hitter. My comment was not intended to dis Matt Kemp or his ability to hit home runs (and I later understood why it may have come across that way and why it riled up one of my fellow TBLA forum members – also not my intention). My comment at the time was merely to point out that because Matt Kemp had completely revamped his swing in 2011 to take everything to center and right/center fields instead of trying to pull everything as he did during his dismal 2010 season – the one in which he set a new Dodgers record with 170 strikeouts. My point was also that because the 2011 version of Matt Kemp was (thankfully) no longer a pull hitter, he probably wouldn’t do very well in the 2011 Home Run Derby which, of course, he did not (he hit only two and only after his 9th out) . Instead, Kemp went on to win the National League home run title with 39 home runs, nearly all of which went to center and right/center fields – a much bigger and more important accomplishment than winning a Home Run Derby trophy by any standard.

Even though Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp has not fared well in his two Home Run Derby appearances, his early elimination on Monday night was not necessarily a bad thing. (Photo credit – Jamie Squire)

History has shown that most Home Run Derby winners are usually perennial 40+ a year home run guys and are almost always dead pull hitters; guys like Ken Griffey Jr., David Ortiz, Sammy Sosa (hmm), Jason Giambi (hmm) and of course Prince Fielder. An obvious exception would be Vladimir Guerrero, who former Angels player and broadcaster Rex Hudler claimed had a strike zone “from his nose to his toes” and who could hit with power to all fields.  And even though Kemp won the NL home run title last year, he did so with only 39 home runs – the lowest total since 1992. Now this is certainly not to say that Matt Kemp is not capable of hitting 40+ home runs – Lord knows he was well on his way to doing so this season until his devastating hamstring injury, but he has still yet to do so in his 7-year MLB career.

And speaking of that devastating hamstring injury, hereto is the very point of this article. All of us, especially Don Mattingly and the entire Dodgers organization were ecstatic when Matt Kemp was named to his second consecutive All-Star Game, and rightfully so – Matt was on track for an MVP-caliber year until his injury. And even at that, the stars were aligning so that it appeared that he might just return from the DL in time to participate in the mid-summer classic. But alas, discretion became the better part of valor and Kemp wisely withdrew from the 2012 All-Star Game, being replaced by future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones in his 19th and final season in the Bigs – a truly fitting gesture for the (now) 8-time All-Star. However, as the reigning NL home run champion (but probably more so to placate him for being snubbed out of the 2011 NL MVP title which he clearly deserved over Ryan Braun), Kemp was named captain of the 2012 National League four-man Home Run Derby team. Because Kemp was in the final stages of his injury rehab assignment, and because he had been taking BP for the past month, and (more importantly) because his injured hamstring did not appear to be affecting his swing (and vice versa), Matt elected to participate in the 2012 Home Run Derby.

Although it is disappointing that Kemp was forced to withdraw from the 2012 All-Star Game, it is only fitting that future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones took Kemp’s spot on the National league roster. (Photo credit – Jamie Squire)

I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want Matt Kemp to do well in the Home Run Derby, of course I did. But I would also be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little happy to see him eliminated very quickly in the contest after hitting only one home run, again with 9 outs (and to center field, of course) simply because he would not be risking further injury or delaying his recovery. I admit that this is extremely selfish but I am willing to bet the farm that I am not the only person who feels this way. I’m guessing that some guy nicknamed Donny B and a lady named Sue (not to mention the guy who signs Matt Kemp’s paychecks every month) aren’t too terribly upset that Kemp didn’t hang around very long in the competition – just a guess.

As is usually the case, long-time critics of the Home Run Derby once again did their ranting about how participating in the Home Run Derby damages the contestant’s respective swings and that their lofty first half home run numbers will drop off drastically in the second half of the season because of their participation in the derby; as opposed to… say… like… maybe the fact that fatigue and exhaustion tend to set in during the second half of a grueling 162-game season (if you get my drift). If anything, Matt Kemp is proof that this drop off thing is not always the case as he hit 22 home runs before the 2011 All-Star break (11 games past the actual halfway point in the season) and 17 home runs after the break, so his home run numbers were basically identical in the first and second halves of the season. And how about Prince Fielder, the winner of this year’s Home Run Derby and 2011 Derby captain and participant? In 2011, Fielder had 23 first half home runs and 15 second half home runs to finish one behind Kemp for the 2011 NL home run title. Sure there was an 8-home run difference in Fielder’s first and second halves, but I doubt that this had anything at all to do with the slugger’s participation in the 2011 Home Run Derby. Fielder entered this year’s All-Star break with 15 home runs on the season and I still believe that he will top 30 this season – if he remains healthy.

Tigers slugger Prince Fielder joins Ken Griffey Jr. as only the second player in MLB history to win the Home Run Derby twice and the first to do so while representing both leagues. (Photo credit – Dilip Vishwanat)

With Matt Kemp (and fellow injured teammate Andre Ethier) expected to be reactivated from the DL and rejoin the Dodgers when they kickoff the second half of the season this coming Friday against the Padres at Dodger Stadium, perhaps Matt Kemp’s short-lived 2012 Home Run Derby experience is actually a blessing in disguise.