With the stands at IoanDepot Park empty this Monday morning, the music from the speakers was not enough to prevent hearing the crack when a baseball bat hits a ball with force.
And yes there was strength. Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwaber, Bobby Witt Jr. and Alex Bregman put together a kind of home run derby under the eyes of the coaching staff and the press present.
There was no record to measure the exit velocity of the hits, nor to know how far the connections fell. The balls went in all directions.
Nearby, the second group of BP, made up of Gunnar Henderson, Roman Anthony, Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Amstrong, were surprised at the long connections. And they took the opportunity to make inquiries.
The protagonists, companions these days, also exchanged knowledge between laughter and admiration.
In the last round, a kind of one-pitch finale, Judge hit a dantesque home run that surpassed the alcoholic beverage advertisement in left-center field.
Hitting coach Sean Casey let out a “woooo” behind the cage that seemed to decree the winner. But the hitting party was not over.
The Judge’s sentence was removed. Bryce Harper hit a ball that ended up beyond the middle of the second deck in right field. The swing was so enormous that the first baseman ended up on his knees, admiring the trajectory of the hit and then raising his hands.
It was a derby, without pressure, between laughter, camaraderie and fun to relax for tomorrow’s game, when the USA plays the final of the World Baseball Classic for the third consecutive time.
Will they emulate those hits tomorrow, not in practice, but in the tension of a game to win the second title for their country?
