There was a time, and it’s more of a distant memory than the recent past, when baseball’s All-Star Game was must-see TV, the biggest event on the summer sports calendar.

As a kid, I usually watched it from the opening pitch to the final out. Or in the case of the 1970 game, until Pete Rose bowled over American League catcher Ray Fosse to score a walk-off win in one of the most memorable collisions in sports history.

Things are way different now, so much that baseball’s midsummer classic might even be equaled in hype/viewership this year by a glorified batting practice. As weird as this sounds, I’m thinking the Monday night Home Run Derby featuring rocket launchers Giancarlo Stanton (Miami Marlins), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) and Cody Bellinger (Los Angeles Dodgers) would be more compelling to watch for most sports fans than the actual game.

Not that the HR derby ever outdraws the All-Star game in TV ratings, but the numbers are closer than you might think. Last year’s record low ASG drew only 8 million viewers, compared to 5.5 million that watched Stanton obliterate the HR derby record with 61 bombs, including the eight longest shots of the contest.

This year’s derby cast of eight participants is not only the youngest (average age of 26.6 years) in the event’s 32-year history, but has the headliners to give the contest more than the typical intrigue.

With Stanton hitting in his home park, and a potential second-round matchup with Judge looming, that’s a pretty enticing spectacle for a casual fan who tends to care more about watching baseballs launched into upper decks than a three-hour-plus game possibly ending near midnight.

Jacksonville University baseball coach Chris Hayes is always more riveted to the All-Star game because he grew up with it and pays attention to strategies and managerial nuances. But he acknowledges the players in his program and those being recruited are more infatuated with the batting practice show.

"This is a new generation of Major League Baseball," said Hayes. "I’ll watch the home-run derby because of the fascination with the strength of these guys. When I think of the derby, I think of a Ken Griffey Jr. and the purity of his swing because that’s my heyday. But in this home-run derby, with Stanton being in his home park and these rookies [Judge, Bellinger] in major markets emerging, it’s kind of a perfect storm for MLB."

The truth is baseball’s All-Star game, while still more compelling to watch than the NBA or NFL version, lost its fast ball a generation ago. The 20-something television ratings of the 1970s and ‘80s have diminished to single digits every year since 2002, including a record-low 4.9 in 2016.

It’s probably no coincidence that baseball introduced the HR derby one year after the NBA, in 1984, permanently signed off on the dunk contest to beef up its All-Star weekend. With the NFL’s continuing stranglehold on TV ratings, both sports felt compelled to do something to spice up interest.

Granted, no moon shot Stanton, Judge or Bellinger might launch on Monday can compare to Reggie Jackson’s bomb off the light tower at old Tiger Stadium at the 1971 All-Star game. That homer was so prodigious, Tigers legend Al Kaline said "it has to be close to the hardest-hit ball I’ve ever seen."

One study estimated the ball hit off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis would have traveled 650 feet, had it not ricocheted off a bank of lights and landed near Willie Mays in right field. It also happened to be Reggie’s first big entry into the world of celebrity, a spotlight that grew much larger once late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner lured him to the Big Apple.

Those were the days when the national past time still ruled the sports landscape. That baseball Camelot is gone. Now the game is fighting for a sliver of the attention the NFL receives. If it takes a HR derby to provide some juice, well, at least this one has some shining stars worth the casual fan’s attention.

"I’d agree the home-run derby is probably more exciting for the fans who aren’t baseball purists," said Sandalwood High product Desi Relaford, who played 11 MLB seasons for seven teams. "Baseball is trying to grab people’s attention with music and everything. It’s not just the game. It’s kind of like I am with soccer. I just want to see the highlights.

"When you see young players putting on a home-run show, it’s fun, especially when you got two rookies from Hollywood [Bellinger] and the Big Apple [Judge] markets."

It’s a slam dunk Judge, Bellinger and Stanton will be big-time attractions. Expectations for the home-run derby have rarely been this high. It’s a different baseball world when you start thinking a batting practice could possibly out-hype or be more entertaining than an All-Star game.

Gene.frenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540