Watch: Bizarre 'hitting contest' decides tied Double-A All-Star Game
Ever wonder what baseball would look like if extra innings were replaced by a home run derby?
Well, this is about as close as you're going to get to seeing that happen. The only thing this strange contest managed to do was make Bud Selig circa 2002 look pretty smart.
On Wednesday, the Double-A Eastern League held its annual All-Star Game in Trenton, N.J., and things got very weird after the East and West Divisions finished nine innings tied at 4-4. Per the league's rules, no extra innings were played and the game went into a special "hitting contest" to find a winner.
The host Trenton Thunder were kind enough to provide us with the rules:
Each manager selects one hitter from his roster
— Trenton Thunder (@TrentonThunder) July 12, 2018
-2:00 on the clock to hit as many balls as they can
-Managers/coaches to pitch to their player
-HRs worth 100 points
-LF and RF worth 5 points
-CF worth 10 points
-Ball that hits the batters eye +50 points (or 150 points for the HR)
Got all that? No? Don't worry, you'll be even more confused in a moment. Here's Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Will Craig getting the first crack for the West Division:
Impressive. But could Philadelphia Phillies farmhand Zach Green keep pace for the East?
Oh, well. It was a valiant effort from the East. Perhaps if they'd sent All-Star DH Tim Tebow up to bat in this contest, things would've played out differently.