About POWER SHOWCASE
The POWER SHOWCASE International High School Home Run Derby seeks to celebrate one of the finest moments in sports, the Home Run, while providing a platform for the top high school power hitting prospects to demonstrate their baseball skills in a Major League Stadium. Created in 2004 by Brian Domenico, the POWER SHOWCASE International High School Home Run Derby has evolved into one of the most exciting, can’t-miss events of the year.
In 2003 Brian Domenico, head baseball coach at Olympic Heights Community High School in Boca Raton, Florida, and his team were holding a car wash to raise money for the Olympic Heights Lions’ baseball program. After four hours, the team had only washed seven cars. Domenico knew it was not a lack of effort that prevented his team from raising significant funds, but rather a lack of an appealing fundraiser. As a result, Domenico endeavored to find a more interesting and entertaining method for funding the Lions’ program. Since the money raised would be used for baseball, he thought incorporating the sport into the fundraiser would be an excellent way to engender interest. Domenico had heard of a county in Florida that had held a countywide home run derby for high school baseball players. This piqued Domenico’s interest, and while he thought a home run derby would be a fun and successful way to generate money for his Olympic Heights Lions, he had grander ideas than simply a local competition. For the next several months, Domenico made hundreds of phone calls to high school coaches throughout South Florida inquiring about potential participants, and on January 17 and 21, 2004, the first South Florida POWER SHOWCASE High School Home Run Derby was held at Olympic Heights High School in Boca Raton.
From its modest beginning as a regional competition in South Florida, the POWER SHOWCASE has grown into a must-see event in which the top power-hitting prospects from the United States and abroad including representatives from Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico, compete to see who will be crowned the next POWER SHOWCASE World Champion.
Over one half of POWER SHOWCASE participants were drafted by major league organizations directly out of high school. The remaining participants went on to play for major Division I and junior college programs and will likely be selected in upcoming MLB drafts.
Going forward, Domenico envisions the POWER SHOWCASE International High School Home Run Derby will continue to grow and draw the top student-athletes from around the world.
POWER SHOWCASE Participants, Schedule and Format:
POWER SHOWCASE participants must achieve and maintain a high level of academic status, while possessing the redeeming leadership qualities and determination that exemplify respect for the game of baseball. All POWER SHOWCASE participants are hand-picked by Domenico and are invited to compete on the international stage.
The first day of the POWER SHOWCASE event is Scout Day. Scout Day is typically held at the training facility of a major league organization. Prior Scout Day events were hosted by the New York Yankees at Steinbrenner Field (formerly Legends Field), the Yankees spring training complex in Tampa, Florida. During Scout Day, POWER SHOWCASE participants demonstrate the five major league tools — running, fielding, throwing, hitting for average, and hitting for power. In addition to the top power-hitting prospects from around the world, local and state media members, college coaches, and professional scouts are in attendance, providing each player the opportunity to display his skills before many top talent evaluators.
Day two is the Home Run Derby. The POWER SHOWCASE Home Run Derby is made up of two rounds — the Preliminary Round and the Championship Round. During the Preliminary Round, the players are each given 25 outs and the chance to hit home runs with a wood and metal bat. Each player gets 10 outs with a wood bat and 15 outs with a metal bat. The five participants who hit the most home runs in the Preliminary Round are dubbed finalists and advance on to the Championship Round.
During the Championship Round, each finalist gets 15 outs with their choice of bat — metal or wood. The player who hits the most home runs in the Championship Round is crowned POWER SHOWCASE World Champion.
In addition to the POWER SHOWCASE World Champion Award, there are 10 other awards, including two Babe Ruth Awards, the “Spirit of Babe Ruth Award” and the “Colossus of Clout Award,” which are presented to the recipient by Linda Ruth Tosetti, the Babe’s granddaughter.
All players’ performances during Scout Day and the Home Run Derby are video-taped and compiled into an individual player highlight videos. These videos are posted on the POWER SHOWCASE website and viewed by professional baseball organizations and college coaches as well as everyday baseball enthusiasts. Prior participants’ videos have been viewed by more than 5 million individuals since 2008!