Los Angeles Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernandez gained the Home Run Derby when he beat native star Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals 14-13 within the ultimate spherical Monday night time.
The 31-year-old Hernandez hit 49 homers over three rounds that totalled 3.98 miles and have become the primary Dodgers participant to win the derby. Kansas City has by no means had a winner.
Witt, needing one to tie with one out remaining, drove a ball to one of many deepest components of the park in left-centre, the place it hit midway up the wall.
Both completed their two-minute ultimate spherical with 11 homers, earlier than bonus swings have been added. Witt got here up in need of his first two bonus swings, then hit two homers in a row — one a 457-foot drive that bought him yet another swing.
Witt was the No. 2 total choose by the Royals in 2019 out of Colleyville Heritage High School, about 15 miles north of Globe Life Field. It was his first time within the derby, however he was the highschool house run champion in Washington in 2018 — and is the one participant to compete in each contests.
Witt had knocked out Cleveland switch-hitter Jose Ramirez 17-12 within the semifinals. Hernandez, who performed six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier than being dealt to the Seattle Mariners in 2022, beat Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm 16-15 after a tiebreaker when each bought three swings — Hernandez hit two out, and Bohm one. They have been tied at 14 after the three-minute section and their bonus rounds, and Bohm got here near avoiding that, however the final ball he hit then landed on the warning monitor in left-centre area.
Ramirez and Bohm each hit 21 homers to tempo the primary spherical. Witt began with 20 homers and Hernandez had 19.
Alonso fails bid to win third derby
The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso fell brief in his bid to affix Ken Griffey Jr. as a three-time derby champion when he hit solely 12 homers within the first spherical.
Alonso hit a 428-foot homer to left-centre area on his first swing, however could not get right into a rhythm. The others knocked out after the primary spherical have been hometown favorite Adolis Garcia of Texas, Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson.
“It’s disappointing, but for me, I think it’s really just a blessing and it’s just of fun being out there,” Alonso mentioned. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t my day.”
Ozuna claims longest homer
Ozuna did have the longest homer of the night time at 473 ft. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, and Oakland’s Seth Brown in 2021 have each hit 472 ft homers in video games on the stadium that’s now in its fifth season.
Bohm, one among a franchise-record eight Phillies named All-Stars, has solely 11 homers this season — the fewest among the many eight derby opponents. He mentioned he was going to attempt to hit as many balls as he may to left area and did — pulling all 21 of his homers that approach within the first spherical.
“Who would have thought?” Bohm mentioned after the primary spherical about advancing.
It nonetheless felt like 100 levels (38 Celsius) exterior Globe Life Park when the derby started, however the retractable roof was closed on the stadium that opened in 2020. When the Rangers hosted the 1995 All-Star Game throughout the road of their previous stadium with out a roof, the derby wasn’t but a prime-time occasion and was held within the sweltering mid-afternoon warmth.
Frank Thomas gained in 1995 with 15 homers over three rounds in a distinct format. Albert Belle completed with a complete of 16, then a Home Run Derby document, however Thomas beat him 3-2 within the ultimate spherical.
With Garcia knocked out, there stay solely three gamers who’ve gained the title of their house ballpark. The final was Bryce Harper when he was nonetheless with the Washington Nationals in 2018, after Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier in 2015 and Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs in 1990.
