Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández wins the Home Run Derby

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — When Teoscar Hernández wanted a second to relax through the Residence Run Derby, the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger obtained a lift from a former teammate who simply occurred to be final 12 months’s champion.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wore a Blue Jays jersey with Hernández’s title and No. 37 on the again as he watched the competitors, honoring his buddy from their time as Toronto teammates from 2017-22.

“That was a shock of the evening,” Hernández stated. “He brings my jersey from Toronto. And when he goes to dwelling plate, he was attempting to calm (me) down, and so he had handed two occasions, and it really works. He stated he needed to assist me going into the final spherical.”

Hernández received the Residence Run Derby when he beat native star Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas Metropolis Royals 14-13 within the last spherical Monday evening.

The 31-year-old Hernández hit 49 homers over three rounds that totaled 3.98 miles and have become the primary Dodgers participant to win the derby amongst 11 who’ve tried. Whereas not collaborating within the derby this 12 months, Guerrero gave Hernández recommendation throughout breaks.

“If I’ve to guess, it does not matter who I am going towards, I’ll guess on myself,” Hernández stated when requested if he felt just like the underdog. “Individuals possibly underestimate myself.”

Witt, needing one dwelling run to tie with one out remaining, drove a ball to one of many deepest components of Globe Life Discipline in left-center, the place it hit midway up the wall to the left of the 410-foot signal.

“Once I hit it I knew I form of — I didn’t hit it nice. However, yeah, I simply was attempting to blow on it or one thing,” Witt stated with a chuckle. “The very first thing I assumed was simply no pop. … We obtained to do a pair extra curls or one thing.”

Kansas Metropolis has by no means had a derby winner.

Each completed their two-minute last spherical with 11 homers, earlier than bonus swings had 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 obtained him yet another swing.

Witt was the No. 2 general choose by the Royals in 2019 out of Colleyville Heritage Excessive Faculty, about 15 miles north of the Rangers’ stadium. It was his first time within the derby, however he was the highschool dwelling run champion in Washington in 2018 — and is the one participant to compete in each contests.

The 24-year-old Witt completed with 50 homers general that traveled 3.8 miles.

Witt had knocked out Cleveland switch-hitter José Ramírez 17-12 within the semifinals. Hernández beat Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm 16-15 after a tiebreaker when each obtained three swings — Hernández hit two out, and Bohm one. They had been tied at 14 after the three-minute phase 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-center subject.

Ramírez and Bohm each hit 21 homers to tempo the primary spherical. Witt began with 20 homers and Hernández had 19.

The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso fell brief in his bid to hitch Ken Griffey Jr. as a three-time derby champion when he hit solely 12 homers within the first spherical.

As an alternative of a single-elimination bracket like final 12 months, the 4 hitters with essentially the most homers within the first spherical superior to the semifinal spherical. It then turned a bracket-style competitors.

Alonso hit a 428-foot homer to left-centerfield on his first swing, however could not get right into a rhythm. The others knocked out after the primary spherical had been hometown favourite Adolis García of Texas, Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson.

“It is disappointing, however for me, I feel it is actually only a blessing and it is simply enjoyable being on the market,” stated Alonso who has 207 homers in his 5 derby appearances. “On the finish of the day, it wasn’t my day.”

Ozuna did have the longest homer of the evening at 473 toes. The longest homers hit throughout video games on the stadium had been 472 toes — by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, and Oakland’s Seth Brown in 2021.

Bohm, one in every of a franchise-record eight Phillies named All-Stars, has solely 11 homers this season — the fewest among the many eight derby rivals. He stated he was going to attempt to hit as many balls as he may to left subject and did — pulling all 21 of his homers that means within the first spherical.

It nonetheless felt like 100 levels (38 Celsius) exterior the ballpark 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 Recreation throughout the road of their previous stadium with no roof, the derby wasn’t but a prime-time occasion and was held within the sweltering mid-afternoon warmth.

Frank Thomas received in 1995 with 15 homers over three rounds in a special format. Albert Belle completed with a complete of 16, then a Residence Run Derby file, however Thomas beat him 3-2 within the last spherical.

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