Home Run Derby
The Century 21 Home Run Derby was held on the Monday before the game, July 10. Four players from each league competed to hit as many home runs in each round to advance and eventually win the contest. This year's Derby featured an important rule change: home runs in the first round would carry over into the second round. In previous years, some players would hit a tremendous amount of home runs in the first round, but become tired by the second round and hit relatively fewer home runs for that round, often not enough to qualify for the finals. By allowing the home runs to carry over, a player can't necessarily be "punished" for hitting an impressive total in the first round. However, like in previous Derbies, the two finalists start over at zero for the finals.
In the finals, Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies defeated David Wright of the New York Mets 5–4, and hit a total of 23 home runs on the night, leading all competitors. Howard memorably hit his winning home run into a sign guaranteeing one person in the crowd 500 free round-trip flights from Southwest Airlines.
PNC Park is distinct for having the Allegheny River running behind the right field bleachers. As a result, several balls were hit into the river on the fly (a feat that has been accomplished only once in the stadium's regular-season history), as well as many more bouncing off the walkway alongside the river. Many fans waited in the river in canoes hoping to retrieve a ball, a sight more reminiscent of the following year's All-Star Game and Home Run Derby site, AT&T Park.
For the second straight year, gold balls were utilized whenever a player had one out remaining in the round. Any home runs hit with the gold ball meant Major League Baseball and Century 21 would pledge to donate $21,000 (US) to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Easter Seals, respectively. In all, 14 gold-ball home runs were hit, constituting $294,000 raised for both charities.
| PNC Park, Pittsburgh—N.L. 62, A.L. 24 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Subtotal | Finals | Total |
| Ryan Howard | Philadelphia | 8 | 10 | 18 | 5 | 23 |
| David Wright | New York (NL) | 16 | 2 | 18 | 4 | 22 |
| Miguel Cabrera | Florida | 9 | 6 | 15 | – | 15 |
| David Ortiz | Boston | 10 | 3 | 13 | – | 13 |
| Jermaine Dye | Chicago (AL) | 7 | – | – | – | 7 |
| Lance Berkman | Houston | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Miguel Tejada | Baltimore | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Troy Glaus | Toronto | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Read more about this topic: 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
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—Calvin Trillin (b. 1940)
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