Fort Worth MSBL Hosts Home Run Derby for 35+ Division and Up
Submitted by Jon Beggerly, League President
The game was hosted at Burleson’s Chisenhall Park on the Arabian Field. The field is 300′ to left and right, 350′ to center, with the 15′ stone wall making for some wild bounces out there!
We hosted 22 players, with an open qualifying round before a head-to-head derby. The top 18 batters, based on home runs or exit velocity, moved on! From there, we moved on to a head-to-head bracket format with the highest seed paired against the lowest.
The lower seed batted first, and we closed the round as soon as the second batter either hit more home runs or exceeded the highest exit velocity in the matchup.
Chris Phillips (big fella in black and gray photo below) of the 35+ Fort Worth Coyotes was a favorite with multiple home runs in each round, but was knocked out by Stephen Crea in the third round. Phillips hit the longest balls of the night, sailing well past the wall, over the street, and one into the trees beyond!
Matthew Garner is a first-year manager for the Cowtown Outlaws (pink below). Garner won our friendly baseball home run derby last fall and is an excellent competitor in our league. He frequently helps with league events and has quite a history with MSBL. Below is more about Matthew:
Hometown: Petaluma CA
Palomar College
Played in MSBL affiliate LABL 2011-2017 Los Angeles 2014 and 2015 Cy Young award winner
Attended the MSBL World Series in Arizona 4 times in that time frame
SDMSBL 2017-2019 San Diego
SJMSBL 2021-2023 San Jose
FWMSBL 2025-present Fort Worth
Stephen Crea (the bum out of uniform) is a member of the 25+ Fort Worth Indians and is having a great season this year. He was a late addition for this event and managed to come out on top!
The final round led off with Garner with two home runs and the highest exit velocity of the night at 99 mph.
Crea answered back to tie it up quickly with two dingers, but had not matched Garner’s velocity. It came down to the 10th and final pitch of the round as Crea smashed a baseball over the wall and onto the street beyond!
Stephen provided the following baseball bio:
“I’ve played baseball since I was three years old and continued through college at Miami of Ohio, where I played primarily center field and second base.
After college, I stayed involved in competitive and recreational softball, but I always missed baseball because softball just was not the same. Finding this Friday night league gave me that feeling back. It’s competitive, but extremely fun and social, so it reminds me why I fell in love with the game in the first place.
I moved to Texas in 2018, and this is my third season in the FWMSBL.
Friday night baseball has become a family tradition, with my wife and almost-six-year-old son coming to every game. Being cheered on by my wife, watching my son develop a love for baseball, and making new friends has made being in the league an amazing experience.
Winning the Home Run Derby was especially rewarding because I have never really been known for power, so it surprised me a little and boosted my confidence. It was actually my first home run derby since I was maybe 10 years old. The fact that I won on my last swing, surrounded by teammates, family, and friends, made it an unforgettable moment.”
