1994 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh) 

Watch this back in the day. ESPN used to be a great channel

When Griffey was the Michael Jordan of baseball and Chris Berman on point with the great calls. Both appropriately had great roles in 'Little Big League,' released the same year of this footage.

Golden age of baseball so many great players

This has got to be my most favorite HR derby ever. I was a 16 year old kid watching in awe as Thomas and Griffey Jr. crushed upper deck shot after upper deck shot.

those 90s starter jackets are fire

90s mlb was the greatest to watch on TV.

I miss Griffey and Thomas and all of them. I feel like baseball is coming back and that makes me smile.

I'm from the UK I went to the pittsburgh vs Chicago game that year was stood over the practice area and managed to get a ball thrown to me from one of the players. I still have the baseball sat in my drawer at home . What an experience 👍

I was a kid in the left field upper deck with my buddy watching this. It was getting boring up there so I said we should go down a section below. Right when we started to leave Frank started hitting bombs right near us. We were amazed.

When Thomas bumped the facade of the upper deck in straightaway left center...that was a bomb.

Back when Home Run Derbies were fun to watch and ESPN just stuck to sports

I was fortunate enough to be there. A great event. It was super hot that day and the homers were flying out of there. Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas were crushing it.

Back when the MLB was actually watchable

The 1994 Home Run Derby. Or, as I prefer to call it, "A Tale of Two Griffs: The Crime Dog and The Kid."

I was 13 years old at the time. Frank Thomas was already my all-time favorite baseball player. Even before he took a big league at-bat I just had a feeling about him when I got his Topps rookie card with him at first base at Auburn. I later learned that he and I share the same birthday. My Big Hurt fandom is as real as it comes.

Ken Griffey Jr is the best baseball player of my lifetime

Love watching the old homerun durbys

Much better without a clock. Let the players pick and choose what they swing at. More organic. Clocks, clocks, clocks, everywhere now. What makes baseball great is that there is no time. Why I love it.

jesus...Frank Thomas at the break, .383, 32hr, 78rbi, .795slg, .515 OBP, 93R... UNREAL numbers.

Before statcast and more reliable measurements-510 feet After stat cast 470

Griffey never took the juice

forgot how sweet mcgriff's swing was

Man Jr had some dope cleats!

23:03 What a sweet sound of a 500 ft bomb

His bat speed is unreal!

@37:49 "And his attitude" from Hall of Famer Joe Morgan as Griffey helps the catcher with the ball.

I actually liked when Chris Berman wanted to do commentary on the Home Run Hitting Contest.

Thanks for posting this, brings back memories

So many regonizable superstars at the home run derby

'94 was the year steroid use began to explode in MLB. Home runs and slugging percentages were through the roof that year, a trend that would continue until the early 2010's.

What happened within a month later, no one will ever forget. Many records would have been broken...

I wonder if Frank Thomas knew back then he would eventually do testosterone boosting commercials

I was rooting for Piazza when I saw this. But Griffey, man.

Back when the derby was simple

I definitely like the mutiple rounds

Dang it, the ads and bumps were cut out :(

26:03 legendary moment, 23:03 was sick too

Ruben Sierra, what could have been. Had a nice long career though. Poor Mike Piazza..... lol I'll just try commentating (paid off)! These are great, I never watched some of these earlier ones at the time ( i started recording them in 1995). Thanks!

some of the best home run hitters of all-time in a lot of these old home run derbys and they can't hit more than two or three fucking home runs. These days guys are hitting 15 to 20 every time. And holy shit the catcher is actually throwing the balls back to the picture hahaboy these were the good old days. I didn't start watching baseball until 1998 when I was nine so this would have been the summer after kindergarten right here. Getting ready to go into first grade.I don't know about you guys but I wish there was a way that we could just go back in time and go back to kindergarten or first-grade or whatever. Just like a vacation. Except you get to go back to being a kid 😂😂

Was this done at high noon during the day??

only 1 round back then? crazy

42:15 "I must kill the Queen"

40:50 just when Frank thought he was the most powerful slugger there lol 5 er 6 or 7 idk 5th deckers

What the helll happened espn?

Frank Thomas hit off his front foot. weird style. He made it work

Three Rivers was a huge stadium. You had to really hit the ball well to get the ball over the fence. If these hitters like Griffey Jr,Frank Thomas and Fred Mcgriff hit homers in today's ballparks like Coors Field,Great American Ballpark or Nationals Stadium the balls would be flying out!!

When staduims meant something to us as kids

Then the strike happen!

Nice

I player a softball game against Dante bichette and two of his sons including beau before he was in Triple-A. They were crushing the ball the third base and I dove and caught a ball, I dove and stopped one and threw him out at first and I dove and stop one and tagged third. On one play Dante was hauling ass towards me and I was like don't hit me as I was catching the ball to tag him hahaha. I was standing on third base with and he was like man I keep telling my boys not to hit the ball to you. You are are getting everything they hit at you.

I love how Frank Thomas makes a tennis grunt when he spanks one

Back when all star events were great and now they mean Jack

@37:34 WOW, the wise foresight of Joe Morgan here... "I hope he has over 50 and has a great season - BUT, I saw what it did to Roger Maris. And he was a veteran. And Ken Griffey, Jr. is still maturing, I'd hate for that to be a blemish on his career." Griffey would only go on to hit 40 in 1994 (his 6th season, at 24 years old) , after having hit 45 in 1993 (at 23yo). He hit 49 in 1996 (27yo), and then 56 in '97 (28yo) and '98 (29yo). Then 48 in '99 (30yo), 40 in '00 (his 12th season, as many as Maris played, at 31yo), 35 in '05 (his 17th season, at 36yo), and 30 in '07 (his 19th season, and 38yo). Maris only played 12 seasons, and only hit more than 30 home runs in a season in '60 (39 home runs at 24 years old), '61 (61 home runs at 25yo), and '62 (33 at 26yo). Griffey was a first ballot Hall of Famer and only in 1984 did Roger Maris get a monument at Yankee Stadium that reads "IN BELATED RECOGNITION", one year before his death at the age of 51, the current age of Ken Griffey, Jr. in 2021.

I was in Arizona and saw Bonds freeking crush a ball.

42:15 just a year later hes come for you and tie your 5 home runs in a playoff series record

Griffey and Mcgriff looks like Twins they has similar swings and almos the same boddy!

BACK BACK BACK BACK

Oh two rivers Pittsburgh.

The new way of timing it and not 10 out is so much better

These guys are super jacked yet only hit 4 homers in a derby? Why is that?

9th annual

No ws this year

Mcgriff looks like Griffey’s older brother!

Chris Berman is the best ever..this vid should be titled, "Chris at his best."

MJ? @43:29

How is Fred McGriff not in the Hall Of Fame...doesnt make sense

I wonder if fans looking back hear how horrible the announcers are

Funny how a kid like Vlad Jr can hit 19 home runs in a home run derby, but Mike Piazza in his prime couldn't hit a single one. They are definitely juicing the balls now, both in the regular season and in the derby.

The days before the Berman ruined the derby by going back back back back back on every home run.

bagwell performance was awful compared to griffey's lol

The many picture intraorally ruin because earth lilly start against a truculent curtain. grumpy, puny sarah

Fred Mcgriff is still not in the baseball hall of fame

I like ken Griffey jr and the yankees

back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back i swear this dude is always the worst part of a home run derby

Mike piazza was never a homerun hitter

This format was just dumb

And just a few weeks after this baseball almost died