ARLINGTON, Texas — The Home Run Derby went down to the wire in thrilling fashion on Monday night at Globe Life Field.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez edged Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the final, clubbing 14 homers to Witt’s 13. Witt nearly tied things up in the bonus round when he sent a deep fly ball to left-center, but it clanked off the bottom of the wall for the final out.
That paved the way for Hernandez to become the first Dodgers player to win the event.
“If I have to bet, it doesn’t matter who I’m going against, I’m going to bet on myself,” Hernandez said. “People maybe underestimate myself. You can see it at the end when Witt was hitting all those homers. Everybody was shooting for him. But I’m here, talented as all those guys over there. They might be younger, but same talent.”
Hernandez, who was making his Derby debut, finished with a total of 49 home runs on the night. Witt, who was also competing for the first time, had 50.
Witt, who won the High School Home Run Derby during the 2018 All-Star festivities in Washington, was also looking to make history, as no Royals player has ever won the event. He also had plenty of crowd support since he went to high school at nearby Colleyville Heritage, which is about 15 miles north of Arlington.
“That was fun. The crowd, the Texas-sized crowd, it was a lot of fun being able to do that,” Witt said. “To make it to the finals, it was awesome. Teoscar put on a great show.”
Hernandez was the 11th different player in Dodgers history to compete in the event. He advanced out of the opening round with 19 home runs, then defeated the Philadelphia Phillies’ Alec Bohm in a three-swing swing-off in the semifinals.
Bohm and Hernandez had each hit 14 long balls to force the swing-off.
In the final, Hernandez went first and hit 11 home runs during regulation. He added three more in the bonus round.
Witt had 11 home runs in regulation and was down to his final out of the extra session when he cranked his 12th home run, which traveled 450 feet and bought him an additional out. He added one more homer before his rally fell just short.
Witt said he knew he didn’t fully connect on his final swing.
“I just was trying to blow on it or something,” Witt said.
Several favorites in the Derby bowed out earlier than expected.
Texas Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia was the hometown favorite, but he narrowly missed the opening-round cut with 18 home runs. The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, a two-time winner of the event, finished with just 12 home runs in the first round, while the Baltimore Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson, the top home run hitter in the field, had 11.
Henderson ranks third in the majors with 28 homers on the year.
Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna was also eliminated in the first round after blasting 16 homers.
“Obviously in it to win it, but it’s always really fun out there,” Alonso said. “I had a blast doing it and it’s such a blessing to be out here and perform.”
This year’s format featured the opening round and semifinals consisting of each batter being given three minutes, or up to 40 balls, in regulation.
Then, each batter had a bonus round in which they received three “outs,” defined as any swing that does not result in a home run. A batter could earn an additional “out” if he hit at least one home run that went 425 feet or further with his additional swings.
In the final, the batters were given two minutes or 27 balls, whichever came first, with the same bonus period as the previous rounds.
–Drew Davison, Field Level Media
