Bour Hour; Justin Bour Daytona Cubs Home Run Champ

2011 FSL Yuengling Home Run Derby Champ Justin Bour of the Daytona Cubs (photo by Eddie Michels)

Clearwater, Fl. (RSEN)–At 5:45pm Saturday local time under the hot Florida sun the Yuengling Home Run

Derby participants entertained the fans at Bright House Field.  The competition featured six of the Florida State League’s all-stars.

Justin Bour of the Daytona Cubs, Jarek Cunningham of the Bradenton Marauders, Khris Davis of the Brevard County Manatees, Brad Glenn of the Dunedin Blue Jays, Kyle Jensen of the Jupiter Hammerheads and Tony Plagman of the Lakeland Flying Tigers took center stage, ah well ok, the batter’s box at Bright House Field.

Coming into the competition Bour and Glenn have the most regular season home runs with 16 and 15

2011 FSL Yuengling Home Run Derby runner-up Brad Glenn of the Dunedin Blue Jays. (photo by Eddie Michels)

respectively.  The two finalists in the home run derby…ah yes you got it; Justin Bour and Brad Glenn.  As matter of fact in the first round Bour and Glen were the only two hitters with more than three.  Glenn was the 5^th contestant to step up to the dish driving six out of the park.  Bour of the Cubs would not out done as the 6’4” 250lb. lefty crushed eight into the humid Florida sky to right which set up the championship round match up versus Glenn.  Lefty (Bour) vs. righty.

Tony Plagman of the Lakeland Flying Tigers (photo by Eddie Michels)

The championship would play out with all the excitement a homerun derby should have.  Brad Glenn of the Blue Jays would lead off. After three quick outs Glenn hit four in a row which included an extravagant bomb clear over the Frenchy’s sign on top of the tiki hut in left field.  As the cowhide flew over the Frenchy’s sign; wows and aahhs were heard from not only the stands but from the players of both teams watching.  Glenn would close the round with eight home runs.

Enter Justin Bour. Bour would have seven homers in the books with three outs to go.  But two consecutive outs would leave

Jarek Cunningham of the Bradenton Maurauders. (Photo by Eddie Michels)

Bour down one homer with one out to go.  Right on cue, Justin hits a bomb over the outer fence to tie Glenn at eight.   Now as much suspense as could behold in a home run derby, Justin Bour at the dish, the stadium staff preparing for a playoff, Bour hit a high, deep fly ten feet inside the right field pole for the victory.  Should we call it a walk-off home run derby victory?  Let’s not go that far.

Afterwards, Bour said, “I told him to just flip it up and I just try to hit it as far and high as I can and worked out.” I asked Justin who was his home run hero as a kid, “I always liked Griffey as a kid. I liked his swing a lot in the home run derby.  I thought it was smooth so it’s kind of who I looked up to.”  And Bour was a smooth Griffey like as he reins 2011 FSL Yuengling Home Run Derby Champion.

Bour was selected out of George Mason University by the Chicago Cubs in the 25th round (770th overall) of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.  Bour is from the Washington, DC area and is currently ripping the ball for the Cubs batting .308 to go along was his 16 HRs.  He and his teammates own the best record in the FSL this year playing .687 ball at 46-21.