The 2011 Home Run Derby contest will take place at Chase Field on Monday July 11, 2011 with a new format that has the AL and NL competing for charity.

The teams have been selected and announced by their captains, David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz of the Red Sox and Prince Fielder of the Brewers. Both captains bring great resumes to the event with Fielder winning the competition in 2009 with 23 homeruns and Big Papi taking the title last year with 32 dingers.

Joining Ortiz on the American League team will be teammate Adrian Gonzalez, Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista and Yankees Robinson Cano. While Bautista leads MLB with 28 home runs, Yankees Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira who have 25 each were left off the team.

On the NL squad the three players joining Fielder will be Brewers’ teammate Rickie Weeks (15 HRs), Dodgers’ Matt Kemp (22 HRs) and the Cardinals’ Matt Holliday (12 HRs).

Although Fielder said he wanted to pick a Diamondbacks player since they are hosting the game, he opted not to do that. That decision may not set well with the Arizona fans since three Diamondbacks players have more HRs then Holliday (Chris Young 16, Kelly Johnson 14, J. Upton 14). Upton earlier said he was hoping to have a chance to represent his team.

So how much has this competition changed over the years?

In 1985 Cincinnati Reds slugger Dave Parker won it with six homers and last year’s winner Big Papi, took home the crown after knocking 32 over the fence. According to the stats we found, the most ever hit was 41 and it happened at Comerica Park in Detroit in 2005 off the bat of Phillies’ slugger Bobby Abreu.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

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