It is widely accepted that of the nine positions on the baseball diamond, the pitcher is the least athletic. Before the American League instituted the designated hitter in 1973 every player on the field was required to be able to handle the bat. The rule does not require that the designated hitter substitute for the pitcher. The designated hitter can take the place of any player on the field but is reserved for the pitcher so to free the pitcher of any extra burdens of hitting or running the bases. Ever since 1973 it has become a novelty for a pitcher to be a good hitter in either league. Some pitchers in today's game enjoy the hitting aspect and others loathe the experience of squaring up for the sacrifice bunt. However one man stands out amongst the crowd of bunting pitchers and his name is Carlos Zambrano.
Today Carlos Zambrano hit his 3rd homerun on the year and his 19th career homerun. Zambrano is truly a unique pitcher. He challenges conventional wisdom on pitchers in every aspect of his game. When his previous contract expired, Zambrano was courted by several teams in both leagues. He ultimately decided to stay in a Chicago Cubs uniform for several reasons including that he enjoyed hitting and a switch to the American League would limit his at-bats to 6 or 7 over the course of the entire season. Hitting from both sides of the plate provide many advantages, for the hitter and are usually a detriment to the pitcher. Zambrano is a switch hitter, an extreme rarity amongst a field of pitchers who fear the batters box. As it stands today Big Z is the active leader in homeruns for pitchers and is currently tied for 13th place on the all-time homerun list for pitchers. To put it in perspective Zambrano has 3 homeruns in 16 games compared to David Wright's 5 homeruns in 86 games. To prove that Wright is not an arbitrary name, David has hit 26 or more homeruns in his last 6 seasons and has never hit less than 14 in a single season. So it is clear that Zambrano is some special hitter disregarding the fact that he is a pitcher.
Why bring this up? If your sports calendar is up to date you know that the State Farm Homerun Derby, that still sounds strange, is taking place on Monday. This year, much like last year, the players were reluctant to join the Homerun Derby for fear of messing with their swing or simply embarrassing themselves. Eventually both leagues sent 4 men to participate most of whom are pretty solid homerun hitters. Last year the game was played in, the House That Ruth Built, Yankee Stadium an American League park which uses the designated hitter. However this year the All-Star festivities will take place in, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium a National League park. By now you have probably put two and two together and realized what I am implying. Why not invite Carlos Zambrano to the Homerun Derby?
As previously stated Big Z has a bit of a love affair with hitting and being the active homerun leader for pitchers he would be a good choice. Major League Baseball consistently tries to draw in more and more fans as is evident by the "this one counts" campaign. Although it would initially look like a publicity stunt, the deeper and deeper into the debate people delve the more they would see that Zambrano has a legitimate shot at contending. Not only would he be the first pitcher to contend but it would provide an interesting storyline that Lance Berkman has brought in years past: no switch hitter has ever won the Homerun Derby. The sheer novelty of a pitcher in a homerun contest coupled with the possibility of seriously contending for the crown would draw in an amazing amount of viewers.
Clearly manager Lou Piniella might have some concerns about Zambrano hurting himself. However if this were to actually happen it would truly capture the spirit of the All-Star break... fun.
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