A couple weeks ago, I asked Major League Baseball to let me roam the Truist Park outfield during the Home Run Derby.
They basically said “lol, no.”
But I guarantee you I wouldn’t have pulled a homer back from oblivion like this kid did last night.
Not successfully, anyway.
Quick links: The hunt for a Derby ball | Poll: Who will win the SEC? | Top recruit set to commit
WHAT A BLAST
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Our boy Matt Olson couldn’t quite get it done at the hometown Home Run Derby.
A bummer? Sure. But it was a lot of fun while it lasted.
“Probably the loudest I’ve heard the place when I kinda got going there (during) the second half,” the Braves first baseman and Lilburn native said afterward. “Ton of fun. Wish I could have advanced, but got off to a bad start, had to take that timeout a little too early. Bad strategy. But it was a blast.”
Let’s take a closer look … by the numbers!
15: Olson’s homer total in the first round. He needed 18 to advance. (Really thought he was gonna catch a heater in the bonus round, but alas.)
54: Total home runs by eventual champ Cal Raleigh, Seattle’s switch-hitting phenomenon. That’s 10 more than the runner-up, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero.
0.96: After both Raleigh and Brent Rooker hit 17 in the first round, they turned to a tiebreaker to decide who would advance to the semifinals: the longest home run.
Raleigh’s topped Rooker by less than an inch.
513: The distance, in feet, of the longest homer of the night. The blast off the bat of Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz was gasp-worthy — and the longest record dinger in Truist Park history.
- Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 495-foot shot in 2020 remains the longest during an actual game.
17.21: The total distance, in miles, of every home run hit last night. That’s more than enough to leave Truist Park, hit the Varsity en route to the former Turner Field and then swing over to Zoo Atlanta.
0: Home run balls caught by columnist Ken Sugiura, who watched from the left field concourse. But maybe the real souvenirs are the friends we made along the way?
TIME TO SHINE
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
The MLB All-Star Game is the best all-star game — and it ain’t particularly close.
The on-field action? A reasonable facsimile of a real game. The vibes? Pure. The pace? Perfect for telling my wife things she doesn’t care about.
And it’s here. Tonight. In Cobb County.
The basics: The TV broadcast starts at 8 p.m. on Fox. If you’re headed down to Truist Park, gates open to the public at 5 p.m.
Tigers ace Tarik Skubal will start on the mound for the American League. Pirates phenom Paul Skenes gets the NL honors.
The pregame: Players and their families will show off their best duds (and chains) during the 2 p.m. red carpet show at The Battery.
Inside Truist, Atlantans Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris will perform. Country star Kane Brown will, too. Then Zac Brown sings the national anthem.
The locals: The lone starter for Atlanta? Mr. Acuña, of course. He’ll bat second in the National League lineup, right behind Dodgers icon Shohei Ohtani.
Olson figures to come off the bench at some point.
- Braves ace Chris Sale won’t pitch, but he’s still around to enjoy the ambience.
The former Braves: Good old Freddie Freeman, now in his fourth season for the Dodgers, will get the start at first base. Expect a massive ovation.
“I’m just happy to be back and playing in front of these fans again,” Freeman told the AJC’s Gabe Burns. “If they give me one, I’ll take it all in. I think you guys know, whatever I feel on the field, I let it come out.”
- Brave-turned-Yankee Max Fried is also in town but won’t pitch.
- Twins outfielder Byron Buxton, a South Georgia guy, is happy to be here, too.
Look out for today’s Braves Report newsletter to find out which young players the All-Stars are keeping an eye on.
TALKING FOOTBALL
Believe it or not, there are non-baseball things happening around town today, too.
Most notably: SEC Football Media Days, where Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, quarterback Gunner Stockton and others have already started fielding questions.
And no, Smart doesn’t believe the rumors about former Alabama coach Nick Saban returning to the sidelines.
🔗 Bonus link: Sankey vows ‘responsible’ use of power over college sports
COMMITMENT ISSUES
Grayson High School’s Tyler Atkinson is Georgia’s top 2026 recruit — and the highest-rated linebacker recruit in the entire country.
He’s set to announce his college decision today on “The Pat McAfee Show.” (Cue the eye roll.) No exact time announced, but the show runs from noon to 3 p.m. on YouTube.
🤔 The finalists: Georgia, Texas, Oregon and Clemson.
ALSO INTERESTING
🫰 The Falcons are on the clock with Drake London after fellow receiver Garrett Wilson signed a megadeal with the Jets, D. Orlando Ledbetter writes.
- You’re also keeping up with his pre-training camp position-by-position breakdowns, right? D-line just dropped.
👎 Rhyne Howard has a left knee injury and will be sidelined until August, according to reports. That presumably means the Atlanta Dream star will miss this weekend’s WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.
🤞 Emmanuel Latte Lath finally scored again! Atlanta United’s pricey striker hopes that’ll open the floodgates — and manager Ronny Deila wants his squad to stop playing like … fireflies?
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Kids or not … who let those Mets fans get so close?
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I still have a lot of fun, I still appreciate it. I still try to go back to when I was a 10-year-old kid and watching the All-Star Game on TV with my dad and understanding that this is a privilege to be able to be here and it's an honor to be here. It's about not overlooking it or taking it for granted.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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