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Monday, July 13, 7 pm CT only on Netflix
Batting order
Willson Contreras
Walker
Caglianone
Schwarber
Rice
Caminero
Murakami
HarperAggravating that it’s on Netflix. Contreras and Jordan Walker were both smokin’. Who could have dreamed that Jordan (let’s DFA him) Walker would be an all-star and in the HR Derby. I’m happy for both these guys.
It wasn’t Contreras fault he was probably got overpaid. I thought he gave it 100 percent and was a real pro when they moved him from behind the plate. I liked the chip on his shoulder. The phrase overused is that he’s a gamer. I admire Walker for his work ethic, positive additude, and his willingness to persevere through times that could have easily crushed his hopes and his soul. Contreras and Walker lead HR Derby after round 1.
Schwarber looks like a 6th grader standing next to Walker…….let’s hope Kyle hits like one in the finals here.
Walker walks it off with the victory……stunning the Phillie faithful. Unbelievable clutch hitting by our star.
The final four swings, with the first three do or die.
https://x.com/baseballisdead_/status/2076859458475393504
Parents in the stands too!
I honestly don’t understand the dismissive comments from people. Why can’t we celebrate that a Cards player won the HR Derby? Its a nice feat.
“The winner of the 2026 Home Run Derby will receive a whopping $1 million in prize money for their victory in Philadelphia.” USA Today.
I think it’s nothing but cool that Walker is the HR derby champ. The guy has worked very hard to rebuild his hand from one of the least valuable MLB players to one of the better players in the game. It’s a credit to him and a blessing to pull in the nice chunk of change as well. Watching the replay brought me a smile this morning.
I don’t typically care one iota about the home run derby or All-Star game but watching the theatrics of Walker’s night play out given all the pains and struggles he has gone through was warming to my heart. Good for him personally. Now let’s hope he can continue thumping baseballs with regularity when the season continues.
Now, it will be interesting to watch how he handles a higher level of fame.
A couple guys who know a thing or two about hitting homers. pic.twitter.com/v0cVAUS1Mc
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 14, 2026
Loved it! Man, that was a fun HR derby! I enjoyed that as much as seeing a Cardinal walk-off thriller win.
Real happy for Walker that things are coming together. He looked great last night – real calm, focused and confident. Now obviously he was hitting balls grooved in the hitting zone and not 95 MPH sliders on the outside corner. But it was thrilling to see him focus like that with the crowd against him for the most part.
There is a chance the Cardinals have two of the best stars of the game the next 10 years in Walker and Wetherholt, should both stay healthy and continue to hone their skills.
Let’s hope the derby is the next step for Walker and not something that messes up his swing. In my opinion, and this is not how I felt before the derby, this is going to help him as he showed so much maturity in handling the big moment. I think he can keep that mentality going in game situatons as well.
I agree with BikeMike…there’s a decent chance that he draws on his experience and gets even better in tge second half. The offense looks to be in better shape after the break.
On the “future HR derby participant” list…will Josh Baez be a guy we will see there one day? It’s fun to think about that power in a glorified BP setting.
Interesting thought on Baez, stlcard25. Will be fun to see how he develops.
I had picked Cameniero (sp?), the guy for Tampa before the event. And when Walker went up against him in the semi’s I figured he would be out. But again, he just was so focused and relaxed.
A guy I would have liked to see is James Wood. He’s kind of a left handed Walker, and a little more mature than Junior. I think he participated last year, but as I mentioned I had not watched the event for years until last night.
I don’t know that I’ve ever watched the derby before, but I did last night to see how Walker would do. That was surprisingly and incredibly fun. I was standing at the end, as I do rarely when at home watching baseball stuff. Game 6 of 2011. Times like that.
I’m with the group thinking this might help Walker. Mostly I think it reflects his development rather than predicts it. He’s found a different headspace this season, so perhaps this experience won’t help with that space. But I could imagine him gaining confidence. I think to Albert’s 2022–6 HR through the all-star break, then 18 the rest of the way.
I wonder if he benefited from batting second in the first round. Contreras set something of a standard. Walker would have known 13 was a reasonable target. But only one slot was (possibly) taken by Contreras. Once two guys had 13, there was perhaps extra pressure on the later hitters who might have thought they needed 14. Then since he came in second in the first round, he could hit after the other player. Saved him some work in the second round. Gave him his clear target for the last. Dunno. Probably not. But dunno.
Brian’s point about watching how he handles the extra fame is a good one.
Yeah Gags, I was the same way. Riveted while watching that last round and his run of six straight. I did a fist pump when he hit that last one.
Had it not been a Cardinal I still would have enjoyed it, but I think it being our guy, and to top it off a guy who has struggled so after being hyped as practically the “second coming”, it just made it all real special.
I liked your comment that maybe we saw Walker’s composure as maturity more so than as a predictor.
One other comment. Being a baseball history buff, I can’t help wondering what stories we would have today had the event started back in say the mid-1920s. I read something a few years ago about what I believe was an actual home run contest between Rogers Hornsby and Babe Ruth. My memory is a bit dim about it, but it seems like it was before a season and was conducted in New Orleans. I will see if I can find anything on it.
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