Elephant Rumblings: Vlad Jr. wins Home Run Derby

Happy Tuesday, all!

Yesterday was the first of a four-day break for the Oakland A’s as All-Star week kicks off in Seattle. While the rest of the team is off enjoying their down time with friends and family, outfielder and DH Brent Rooker is caught up in All-Star festivities as the lone Oakland representative at the Mid-Summer Classic. We’re all hoping he makes an appearance and makes an impact on the game on one of the biggest stages of the game. Go, Brent!

The Futures Game was the unofficial start of All-Star weekend but today is the real beginning to the festivities. And starting things off was the Home Run Derby. We had a terrific lineup of some of the youngest stars in the game and they delivered and then some.

This field, full of young players/first-timers, didn’t disappoint. Mariners young phenom Julio Rodriguez set a single-round record for home runs with 41 in the first round:

Holy moly. Other guys like Adley Rutschman and Randy Arozarena had amazing performances and could have won this contest in other years. Ultimately though it was the Blue Jays’ young stud Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who came out on top in the final round against Rays star Randy Arozarena 25-23. It’s a nice moment for the Guerrero family as his father won the same contest all the way back in 2007. I love this game.

A’s Coverage:

• Shea: Former A’s address ‘‘what-ifs’ in Oakland
• Nico: The Blogfather’s take on Draft Day 1
• Willis: Rounding up Day 2 of the Draft
• Zirin: The Oakland A’s move and Rob Manfred’s Insatiable Greed

MLB News & Interest:

• ESPN: Yankees hire Sean Casey as new hitting coach
• Passan: Gerrit Cole, Zac Gallen to start All-Star Game
• Castrovince: Ohtani’s future the hot topic in Seattle
• Today in Baseball History

Best of Twitter:

Epic:

Indeed it is, Dallas…