Rockies fans know that Charlie Blackmon has pop in his bat. His 477-foot home run on Sunday in the Rockies’ rout of the Chicago White Sox is evidence. Major League Baseball and ESPN, however, might need a little help understanding that.
In Monday’s home run derby, Blackmon fell to Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger in the first round after Bellinger slugged two home runs in “bonus time” – earned by hitting a pair of home runs more than 440 feet during the initial 4:00 time period.
Blackmon, hit 14 home runs during his 4:00, but did not earn the :30 of bonus time. Bellinger earned the :30 bonus on the final swing of his round.
But there’s some compelling evidence that suggests that Bellinger’s final home run might not have traveled as far as advertised.
Jake Welch, who covers the Rockies for Purple Row, grabbed a pair of images from the broadcast that seem to contradict the stats. Here’s his original tweet:
HR DERBY CONSPIRACY? Check the evidence.
Compare Blackmon's longest HR at 433 feet vs Bellinger's HR of 446 feet. Something doesn't add up. pic.twitter.com/Zel5pj2dOE
— Jake Welch (@20thandJake) July 11, 2017
Here are Welch’s images of Blackmon’s longest home, measuring 433 feet (the ESPN broadcast indicated it was 434 feet), and Bellinger’s last-second home run, measured at 446 feet.
Credit: Jake Welch, Twitter
Credit: Jake Welch, Twitter
You can watch MLB.com’s official videos of Bellinger’s buzzer beater and each of Blackmon’s home runs (No. 13 is the one in question) and judge for yourself.
Even if Bellinger’s final swing did travel 446 feet, it at least looks like Blackmon had a couple shots that traveled that far and Blackmon should have earned bonus time himself.
Bellinger has burst onto the scene in his rookie season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, blasting 25 home runs in his first 70 games. Only Aaron Judge, the Yankees phenom who went on to win the Derby, has more as a rookie this year.
Did MLB and ESPN want an East Coast vs. West Coast rookie masher final, thus fudging the numbers on Bellinger’s final home run? Maybe, maybe not. But the photo evidence seems to suggest that something was amiss.