Josh Hamilton, who ruled himself out of the previous two Home Run Derbys, said he’d be willing to consider it this time around if approached by team captain David Ortiz.
It was revealed Sunday that Ortiz had approached Jose Bautista and Mark Teixeira for two of the three openings on the squad. Bautista is in, but it’s unclear whether Teixeira will go: he wasn’t named to the AL All-Star roster, so he might prefer to take a few days off instead.
Hamilton, who will be a starter for the AL squad after holding off Jacoby Ellsbury in the fan vote, put on the greatest show in Derby history when he smacked 28 homers in the first round at Yankee Stadium in 2008. Believing the outburst messed up his swing, he made it clear he wasn’t interested in an encore performance in 2009 or 2010.