Maybe that whole "Home Run Derby ruins your swing" argument is true after all.
In the eyes of Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan, it certainly is anyways.
As a guest on Rob Bradford's (WEEI) podcast this week, Magadan was asked about the drop-off in power with Adrian Gonzalez after the All-Star Break. While Magadan didn't point to just the HR Derby as the reason, it was one of them.
"When you are spending the offseason trying to rehab from a major surgery labrum of right shoulder in October 2010 like that, you know, I think he got to spring training and continued his rehab in spring training, didn't start hitting until the middle of March, I think it wore on him as the season went on," Magadan said.
"And when he went to the All-Star Game and took all those swings in home run derby, that amount of fatigue on his body and in general, he was different when he came back. I know he doesn't concur with that, doesn't agree with it, but I saw a difference in his swing. As the second-half started to wear on, he started to I don't want to say complaining, it was bothering him, his shoulder was bothering him."