Tuesday Newsletter time: Joey Gallo comes up a swing short, and maybe that's not the worst thing
The Texas Rangers All-Star lost 20-19 to Trevor Story in the first round of the Home Run Derby.
Joey Gallo made it interesting at least.
A late flurry of homers Monday in the final minute of the first round of the Home Run Derby came up one short, a foot short and a second short. Gallo failed to advance, losing 20-19 to hometown favorite Trevor Story.
There was some confusion as to if he got his final swing off in time, and some believed he had tied Story at the buzzer. Alas, Gallo quickly and graciously accepted defeat.
Bummer.
It was disappointing that Gallo got going too late and didn’t get a chance to show off the power that Texas Rangers fans have seen during his batting practices and even Rangers games.
Gallo’s longest blast was 494 feet, though Story hit one 518.
But maybe it is a good thing Gallo didn’t advance.
He sure looked tired at the end of the first three minutes, and was probably tired once the adrenaline of the late rush wore off. There would have been time to recover before the second round, but he doesn’t have to worry about recovering from the totality of dozens of massive swings.
Gallo can start the second half fresh. He can head to Buffalo to face the Toronto Blue Jays, and pick up the pace he took into the All-Star break. He can convince the Rangers to sign him to an extension and not trade him at the deadline.
This is a guy to build around, not to sell off for players who aren’t as good as he is.
COVID and the draft
Rangers fifth-round draft choice Mitch Bratt is from Canada, yet he played his senior season of high school in Georgia.
Sixth-rounder Chase Lee is nearly 22 and has another year of eligibility at Alabama.
Bradford Webb is in grad school at Virginia Commonwealth.
Older players and a foreign invasion are the by-product of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down the 2020 college and prep seasons and still has Canada enforcing stricter protocols.
The NCAA gave every baseball player an extra year of eligibility and MLB cut the 2020 draft to only five rounds. Many draft-eligible players a year ago who weren’t selected chose to return to college.
“This draft was weird because you had a bunch of older guys just for the fact that COVID, all these guys have an extra year,” amateur scouting director Kip Fagg said. “I think we’re going to be dealing with the [older players] for a couple years with college baseball.”
Through 10 rounds, the Rangers have selected seven college players, including first-rounder Jack Leiter at No. 2 overall.
These guys can play
One of my favorite sports events of the year is the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, when celebrities head to Lake Tahoe to tee it up. I don’t particularly care how the actors and musicians do.
I want to see the pro athletes, active or retired, get after it. On Sunday, Vinny del Negro, the former NBA player, beat MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz in a sudden death playoff. Del Negro dedicated the win to his father, who passed away Wednesday.
The shot of the tournament, though, belonged for former Dallas Stars great Mike Modano. A friend of the Do It For Durrett Foundation, which means he’s my friend, Modano holed-out his second shot on the par-5 18th hole from 205 yards for the first double-eagle in tournament history.
He was pretty excited.
The shot allowed Modano to finish the first round tied with Smoltz for first place before fading to eighth. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo finished third.
Del Negro, who plays as an amateur, could not except the $125,000 first-place money, so that went to Smoltz.
He really needed to catch a break.
Doggy video!
This might be one’s idea of heaven. Enjoy. See you Wednesday.
