Shark Bytes

I saw some of it in the original run as a little kid. All the boys knew homerun derby.

My brother and I were close in age. When we were very young and were still sometimes restricted to the backyard and couldn't recruit friends we played homerun derby.

We played a LOT of homerun derby.

Our parents were influenced by homerun derby too since the only reason we could leave the backyard was to retrieve the baseball.

I can still remember the last time I played homerun derby.

My brother and I became old enough to venture out of the backyard safetly on our own and we finally grew big enough to jack enough homers over the fence that going after them became tiresome.

I'll still watch it when I see it.

I really question the legitimacy of the show, there are a lot of crazy edits (especially in volumes 2 and 3, those of you that have the DVDs) questionable calls (foul balls being called HRs, balls not clearing the fence being called HR (Duke Snider's only HR to right...it didn't hit the top of the palm trees no matter what anyone said) and seemingly obvious HR being called popups and consequent OUTS (Willie Mays, twice in the very first episode)) and odd player reactions to different sequences.

I love the show, but it looks completely staged. I read somewhere that this would have continued had Mark Scott not died of a heart attack...I'm surprised it was never continued, what a fantastic idea

This show totally ROCKED! My friends and I used to watch these reruns late at night on ESPN in the '80s. The interviews were a bit corny, but that just added to the entertainment. I can't wait to buy the DVDs.

THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST BASEBALL SHOWS EVER. THE LATE MARK SCOTT DIED AT 45. WHAT A SHAME. HE WAS A GENTLEMAN AND REALLY LOVED BASEBALL. HE WAS A FORMER REDS BROADCASTER. I HAVE THESE SHOWS ON VHS BUT I SHALL DEFINITELY BUY THEM ON DVD! THIS BASEBALL SHOW REPRESENTS A TIME WHEN BASEBALL PLAYERS RESPECTED THE GAME AND THE FANS- A TIME NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN!!!!!!! GOD BLESS MARK SCOTT AND MAY HE REST IN PEACE!

Thanks for mentioning my Dad's show.I don't think he ever imagined people praising it 50
years down the line!

Love the show.... I grew up in this area! say what you want about the lame interviews..... but thats how they were in that time and date..... makes me feel like a kid again when I see the show!

This show made such an impression on my friends and me that for years we went to our local park to play Home Run Derby. Home plate was in center field, pitchers mound near second base, and the chain link fences around the infield served as our outfield walls. What great memories!

OK, the thing was filmed in an empty ballpark that made Wrigley Field look like the friggin' Astrodome. (I could build that place in my backyard.) The host was so intimidated by the players, that his Q&A sessions sounded like a fourth-grade play. The players gave the most wooden responses in the history of TV, the checks are embarrassingly small by today's standards. God, I love this show. It's so awesome, it's my link to the baseball past. P.S. I know I'm crossing a line, but does anyone know whether Mark Scott was gay, my friend says he is.

This show never jumped. BTW - as someone mentioned, this show was filmed at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. (http://www.sportshollywood.com/lawrigley.html)

What a bizarre show. Watching the old reruns, I had no sense of time or place. Where WERE those guys? Why did they do the show in a totally desolate stadium? You'd think someone could have thought of having a small cheering section for each player or something. The silence was eerie...except for the embarrassingly lame small talk with each hitter as the other one was at bat. And, let's face it, none of those guys, even the great future hall-of-famers, were very articulate anyway. It was an enjoyable show to watch, but more as a curiosity. The way it was staged was just so odd, as if the camera crew and batters had sneaked into an unlocked stadium entrance to do the show when no one was looking.

About six months after "Home Run Derby" was filmed, Mark Scott dropped dead of a heart attack. Probably from seeing these cheesy shows with the wooden, forced dialogue

Definitely the episode where mickey mantle and willie mays go head to head... mantle is so hung over that he didn't know that mark scott was asking him questions while mays was batting... absolutely hysterical... mantle is so hung over he hits no homers for the first 6 innings and actually misses a few pitches before he recovers and hits about 8 500 foot dingers... meanwhile mays was grinning like an idiot watching mantle and submitted his resume to the bill walton hall of fame with some of his commentary with mark...sample conversation ... mark:"so willie, if you keep up this pace you look like you could upset our defending champion" mays "its a beautiful day here mark and i'm happy to be batting baseballs"... good stuff

The Dick Stuart/Wally Post matchup

My favorite part of this show was the "umpire" that called the outs. It was always the same sound and cadence, every time! It makes me laugh every time I hear that guy yell "Two outs!" Maybe I'm the only one that noticed this.

Never Jumped. Oh, and the guys participating in "Home Run Derby" did have ONE thing in common with today's slugger: they were facing mediocre pitchers.