CAN YOU HIT A HOMERUN?

There's this new show on ESPN2 called "Sportsnation" where a handful of questions are debated back-and-forth and at the end of the debate there's this "straw poll" cast to those in internet universe land.

This one particular question was asked today and the result was amazing. The question is - "could you hit a home run with an aluminium bat during the Home Run Derby"

In the great sports landscape that is America, I usually have a lot faith in the average sports fan. But when 52% of voters think they can hit a home run with an aluminium bat in a home run derby I lose faith in the average sports fan.

I speak from a little experience here. When I was the GM of the Pulaski Rangers I took my fair share of swings in the ballpark that was 306 feet down the line for a home run. In all my swings, I came close twice to hitting the ball out of the park. TWICE! Granted I was using a wooden bat but hitting a homerun is not easy. I was pretty thrilled just to hit it off the wall on the fly.

The problem is that MLB players make hitting a home run simple. It's freakin' hard. Trust me. If it were simple to hit a batting practice home run then why is it during the home run contest the best home run hitters struggle more than they succeed?

Go to any batting cage in the country and get into the cage where the speed is roughly 60-65 miles per hour. See how you do and many more times than not, you aren't hitting a home run. IF you even get a hold of one at all.