After Madison Bumgarner gained national attention for expressing his desire to compete in the 2016 Home Run Derby, the players union will look further into the idea of implementing pitchers into the annual contest.
Earlier this season, Bumgarner mentioned he was interested in participating in the Derby, but that dream was shot down by the Major League Baseball Players Association a couple weeks prior to the announcement of the participants. However, Jayson Stark of ESPN reports the executive director of the players union has said the possibility of pitchers in the Home Run Derby will be discussed prior to the 2017 Midsummer Classic.
There was a large amount of fan interest in Bumgarner participating in the competition. The Giants’ ace leads all active pitchers with 13 career home runs, including two off Clayton Kershaw, and was the winner of the 2015 Silver Slugger for pitchers.
Jake Arrieta, Adam Wainwright, and Jose Fernandez are other pitchers who have shown interest in participating in the Home Run Derby, and Cubs manager Joe Maddon is also supportive of the idea.
