BTBS: Fact or Fiction: the Home Run Derby curse

MLB finalized the 2017 Home Run Derby field on Monday: Charlie Blackmon, Mike Moustakas, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Cody Bellinger, Justin Bour and Miguel Sano all announced their intentions to participate in the event, which will take place on Monday, July 10 in Marlins Park.
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Every year, with Derby talk comes the idea that the event “hurts players’ swings” and could potentially be the reason why participants tend to have bad second halves to their seasons. This theory is used to explain the drop-offs in performance from many sluggers. This notably occurred in 2009, when Brandon Inge struggled down the stretch. Inge hit just six home runs (40 wRC+) in the second half, after swatting 21 bombs (128 wRC+) in the first half.

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