Multimedia presentation by Dan Marsula, Bill Pliske and James Hilston
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

To paraphrase a line from the Godfather, sluggers at the 22nd Annual Home Run Derby will be trying to get Mr. Baseball to sleep with the fishes.

Each year one of the most anticipated events of the All-Star weekend is the Home Run Derby. Sponsored by Century 21, the event will be held at 8 p.m., July 10 at PNC Park and will be televised nationally on ESPN. The churning waters of the Allegheny beyond the outfield fence provide a dramatic backdrop if not an inviting target for players to splash down their proverbial rocket launches.

According to baseball-almanac.com, Major League Baseball adopted an official format for a Home Run Derby contest for the 1985 All-Star game weekend. Similar contests had taken place before, but this would be the first time it was officially acknowledged by the league. From 1985 through 1990, the Derby was structured as a two-inning event with each participant getting five outs per inning. Since 1991, eight to ten players, are chosen to participate in a three round contest, with each player getting ten outs per round as they attempt to hit as many home runs as they can. The top four advance to the second round, the top two to the final.

Last year's Derby held at Comerica Park in Detroit was the first "international" long ball contest, featuring eight sluggers from eight different countries, a homage to the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Bobby Abreau of the Phillies, representing his native Venezuela, took the crown. The contest returns to the normal format this year.

Even with batting practice pitchers serving up meatballs, knocking one into the Allegheny will require a Brobdingnagian blast of brawn and bat speed. A mere handful of home runs have made into the Allegheny River on a bounce during live game action, and only one was ever plunked into the water on a fly. Former Pirate Daryle Ward, then playing for the Houston Astros, crushed a 479-foot grand slam off of Pirate pitcher Kip Wells on July 6, 2002 over the right field stands and into the drink, where the ball was retrieved after a 20-foot swim by a man who peeled off his shirt and dived into the river from his boat.

No doubt fans will line the river walk with mitts, fishing nets, water wings, pleasure crafts and canoes to try and snag one of the balls. Non-motorized water craft will be allowed closest to the shoreline, while motor and commercial boats will be permitted further back. Boats will be subject to a security check. Venture Outdoors, a local outfitter that offers kayak rentals and tours of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers will have a Home Run Derby Paddle on the evening of the event.

Related story

Year-by-year Home Run Derby results

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