As a later in life baseball fan, this was my first time actually sitting and watching the Home Run Derby, and I have some thoughts, friends. I need to start by telling you that I didn’t need the 30-minute lead up. It was a lot. I loved Albert, having Barry Bonds as a commentator was a choice (I thought), and Elle Duncan was a phenomenal lead host.

Let’s start with what worked.

The move from the clock to a set number of swings was an excellent choice. Batters could pick their pitches, and those watching in person and on tv got to see where some of those suckers were sent to. 10/10 - no notes.

Being able to continue if you hit the homer on the last of your 20 or 15 swings made the whole event feel more like a baseball game. If you keep getting hits with two outs, you’re not out of the game yet. 10/10 - fantastic.

Those are two major format changes that I think paid off phenomenally.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that made the whole show a little less fun.

As I mentioned above, we don’t need 30 minutes of front matter. Give me 10; some highlights from the previous year or two, a rundown of the guys competing tonight, and then let’s get started. I also absolutely did not understand the wrestling motif. What was that about?

This was my first time watching a live event on Netflix, and it was not a great experience. I don’t think they’re ready for live broadcast yet. First, there was the inability to air the reunion of season four of Love is Blind - their own show! Then came the debacle of the system crashing during the ridiculous Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson “fight”.

Live broadcasting also requires the ability to mix sound on the fly. I heard way too much stadium sound - to the point that I muted the tv to make sure my kids weren’t up listening to music with a heavy bass line because I could hear it over the commentary. It made it difficult to pay attention to the information I wanted to be getting. Netflix has such a dicey track record hosting live events, so the fact that MLB still gave them the contract is beyond me.

For a league that claims to know they need to work to bring in viewership, MLB continues to make choices that impede fans watching as much as possible. According to S&P Global, 32 NFL teams play 17 regular season games each over the course of about four and a half months and is watched by 42% of U.S. adults. Thirty MLB teams play 162 regular season games each over the course of around six months, and are watched by 29% of adults. With a month and a half of extra play, and multiple games a day, you would think it would be easier to keep the number of viewers up. Unfortunately, it takes a color-coded map to find out which game is being broadcast where; to say nothing of the difficulties of trying to watch your team if you live too close to the broadcast area.

Putting an event meant to highlight some of the best, most fun-to-watch players behind paid subscriptions services, again not to mention the number of regular season games, drastically cuts the number of low-income households that are able to view the sport. This in addition to the rising cost and prevalence of travel/select baseball taking away resources and talent from more accessible recreation leagues, is a sure recipe to make baseball an elitist activity - far from its roots as America’s Pastime. Everyone should have the ability to watch and participate in this uniquely American sport.

The game lives on, for now.

The Derby kept moving last night.

By the time the final round was coming, I texted a friend and said that while I wanted a Walker win, because I am a Cardinals fan first and foremost and thought him capable, I didn’t feel confident. Walker was going up against the current home run leader on his home field. Phillies fans were not about to give Walker an easy go of it. With each swing we texted, hoping against hope that he would pull it off.

When Jordan Walker hit his last homer to out-hit Schwarber, I yelled loudly into my hat in my hands - everyone else in my house was asleep. He’s the first player in the Cardinals franchise history to win the Derby, and for that, among many other reasons, he continues to be a great role model to black kids in St. Louis and beyond. Hearing from his family on the field, accompanied by his wide smile, is certainly a boon to Cards fans everywhere. However, more than that, it’s the culmination of a lifetime of hard work by an incredibly talented young man who I hope has a long future with the second winningest team in baseball history.

David is a late in life baseball fan whose love for the St. Louis Cardinals will never be deterred. He is a full-time caregiver to his disabled son, and also happens to be a Pastor, Chaplain, and bookseller who somehow finds time to watch too much TV. The father of four lives with his wife, kids, mother, and pets in Georgetown, Texas.

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