The captains have been chosen for the 2012 Home Run Derby contest, which takes place during the All-Star break. Matt Kemp, will pick the National League team and Robinson Cano, last year's derby champion, will pick for the American League.
Matt Kemp was off to a hot start this season. He hit all his 12 home runs in the month of April, but has been slowed by a hamstring injury as of late.
He did horribly in last year's derby, only hitting two home runs. Kemp was eliminated in the first round and even had less homers than Milwaukee Brewers' second baseman, Rickie Weeks, who managed to somehow hit three.
Robinson Cano was a completely different story. He owned the night.
With his father as his pitcher, Cano went on to hit a total of 32 home runs. His sweet, balanced and non-chalant swing helped him beat, Adrian Gonzalez 12-11. Cano set the record for the most home runs hit in the final round of the derby.
Now, both Kemp and Cano will have to choose their counterparts, who will ultimately turn into competitors.
The question now is who will get chosen?
Josh Hamilton should be a no-doubter and would bring people to Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals. He has 21 home runs, leading all MLB players.
Hamilton broke through the mainstream with a massive Home Run Derby performance in 2008 at the old Yankee Stadium. He bashed 28 homers in the first round, a derby record, but fell short to the Minnesota Twins', Justin Morneau 5-3 in the final round.
Giancarlos Stanton is also a no-brainer. He is tied 11th in the Majors with 13 homers in the season, but the kid possesses scoreboard-shattering power. As of late, Stanton has not been missing many. He hit 12 of his 13 home runs in the month of May.
Other possible candidates include Adam Dunn, Carlos Beltran, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Gonzalez and maybe even Adam Jones.
