In what has generally been a recurring theme over the last several seasons, the Patriots beat the Bills in an athletic competition. But in this case, it was an individual player from the Patriots and it wasn't on the gridiron, but rather the baseball diamond.
Rob Gronkowski returned home to his native Buffalo, New York and made an appearance at the Buffalo Bisons' celebrity home run derby. Not only did he appear in the derby, but he managed to win it.
The event, which featured former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and current Bills running back Fred Jackson, among other local Buffalo sports executives and players. The participants were divided into two teams. The first team, Hunter's Hope, was named for the foundation created by Jim Kelly and his wife after their son, Hunter, was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy. The second team, Unyts, was named for an organization in Western New York that facilitates organ, tissue, eye and blood donation.
A special fence was set up about halfway between home plate and the outfield wall and acted as the special "celebrity home run" zone. Anyone hitting the ball past that fence scored 1 point. Anyone that hit a true home run past the outfield wall was given five points. The top scoring batter from each team would move on to the final round.
When Gronk took to the field, there were some boos from the die-hard Bills fans in attendance, but when he started sending the balls over the fence, all that was heard were cheers. Before taking his turn at the plate, only three other participants had managed to clear the fence: Fred Jackson, Sabres enforcer Patrick Kaleta and Bills CEO Russ Brandon.
The finals were determined by cumulative home run total, with Gronk facing off against Russ Brandon. Each batter had five outs to hit as many as over the fence as they could. Brandon was down to his last out when he went on a tear and sent 7 straight over the celebrity fence, before taking his fifth out, down 9-8 against Gronkowski. Gronk came to the plate for his round and managed to add 8 more for a total of 17 and a runaway victory.
Speaking after the derby, Gronk said of the experience:
"It was definitely a little nerve-wracking going out there. My heart was beating fast, it kind of felt like playing a football game."
Overall, for fans in Buffalo it was a wonderful night with many stars coming out for a great event. And Gronkowski was definitely happy to have taken part, even if he hadn't won:
Source : Gronk wins superstar home run derby in Buffalo - Examiner.com"I'm proud to be from Buffalo, obviously. I love coming back and seeing everyone. It's a great town, and I just had a blast coming here."
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