Open Thread and Ichthyomancy: Home Run Derby (7/11)

Tonight is the Home Run Derby version of Ichthyomancy.

The Derby starts at 8:00 p.m.

The rules are as follows:

The golden ball once again returns for tonight and this time they are real gold, sort of.  (Why does the Robber Baron era keep coming to my mind?) When a player is down to their final out the pitcher will throw a golden ball.  Should the player hit a golden ball for a home run it will generate money given to charity.

For each gold ball home run hit throughout the derby, State Farm and Major League Baseball will combine to donate $18,000 to the organization (Boys & Girls Club of America). That figure represents the 18,000 State Farm agents in the U.S. and Canada.

State Farm will also donate $3,000 to the organization for each non-gold ball home run hit in the event.

Should you want to buy a juiced up real golden ball, you can do so here for the low price of $149.99 Golden Baseball.

But that is not the only way to raise money for charity, there is also the competition between the NL & AL.

For the winning captain's charity, there will be a $150,000 donation in the captain's name, along with a $100,000 contribution to Boys & Girls Club of America (BCGA). The losing team will have a $25,000 check made to the charity of its captain's choice and in his name.

The total number of home runs hit by all players in all rounds will be tabulated to determine the winning league, captain and charity.

Ichthyomancy points will be awarded in these categories: champion, most homers in a single round, most homers in the derby, and for any accurate (and specific) above and beyond picks (i.e. David Ortiz goes homerless in the first round and is eliminated or Rickie Weeks out homers Adrian Gonzalez 5-3 in the final, with Weeks hitting two "golden" homers to clinch the title).

Tonight's Participants

Since this is totally objective, GameFish and I get to play. Here are my picks:

My picks:
Champion: Jose Bautista
Most homers in one round: David Ortiz
Most homers (cumulative): Jose Bautista
AAB: Prince Fielder goes pool with a golden ball.

It's your turn to make your picks. And yes, the points do count, well, for everyone but GameFish and myself.

Best of Luck to Everyone!