ARLINGTON, Texas — Los Angeles Dodgers’ Teoscar 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 night time.
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.
Kansas Metropolis has by no means had a winner.
Witt, needing one to tie with one out remaining, drove a ball to one of many deepest elements of the park in left-center, the place it hit midway up the wall.
Each completed their two-minute last spherical with 11 homers, earlier than bonus swings had been added.
Witt got here up wanting his first two bonus swings, then hit two homers in a row — one a 457-foot drive that acquired him another swing.
Witt was the No. 2 general decide by the Royals in 2019 out of Colleyville Heritage Excessive College, about 15 miles north of Globe Life Subject.
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 José Ramírez 17-12 within the semifinals.
Hernández beat Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm 16-15 after a tiebreaker when each acquired three swings — Hernández hit two out, and Bohm one.
They had 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 observe in left-center area.
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 affix Ken Griffey Jr. as a three-time derby champion when he hit solely 12 homers within the first spherical.
As a substitute of a single-elimination bracket like final yr, the 4 hitters with probably the most homers within the first spherical superior to the semifinal spherical.
It then grew to become a bracket-style competitors.
Alonso hit a 428-foot homer to left-centerfield on his first swing, however couldn’t 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’s disappointing, however for me, I feel it’s actually only a blessing and it’s simply of enjoyable being on the market,” Alonso mentioned. “On the finish of the day, it wasn’t my day.”
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, certainly one of 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.
Ramirez hit left-handed, a change from what he has executed when hitting in previous house run contests, and what he had deliberate till a spherical of batting follow Monday.
It nonetheless felt like 100 levels (38 Celsius) outdoors 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 Sport throughout the road of their previous stadium and not using a 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 distinct 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.
With García knocked out, there stay solely three gamers who’ve received 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.
