With the Double-A Eastern and Western Division All-Stars tied at four a piece at the end of the ninth at the Eastern League All-Star Game in Portland, Maine, the PA announcer at Hadlock Field informed the crowd that the game would be decided by a sudden death home run derby. Yes, a Home Run Derby shootout, ladies and gentleman.
The rules were simple. Each manager picked three players to compete and they would have one hit to try and drive the ball out of the ballpark. Otherwise, the derby would continue into more rounds until a winner was decided. It took until the fourth round for there to be a victor, but it was none other than Reading's right fielder, Brian Pointer, that hit the decisive long ball.
Eastern Division manager Billy McMillon chose Pointer along with his Reading teammate Brock Stassi as two of the three hitters. After hitting the game-winner in round four, Pointer commented about the unique ending to the game.
"That was just pretty awesome," a bewildered Pointer said moments after the unorthodox ending. "Just to see it go out, ending this whole thing with a little bit of a saga at the end, I'm pretty much speechless right now. I'm just happy that we won it and happy to walk it off."
"That was crazy," Pointer added. "This was my first All-Star Game and to have a home run derby to walk it off, it's pretty unusual and pretty cool." [MiLB.com]
Pointer, 23, went 1-for-3 with a walk during the game while his teammate, Brock Stassi, went 0-for-1 with a walk. Pointer wasn't originally selected to the game, but he replaced Cam Perkins on the roster. On the season, Pointer is hitting .245 with nine home runs. Reading reliever Stephen Shackelford pitched 2/3 of an inning in the game and walked a batter.
Reading kicks off the second half of their season againstNew Hampshire on Thursday night at 7:05 in Reading. Reinier Roibal (2-1, 2.48) will get the call for the Fightin' Phils while the Rock Cats will counter with Shane Carle (9-5, 3.57).
Check out the sudden death home run derby below and fast forward to the 11:48 mark to see Pointer's game-winning homer.
