*Photo from True Blue LA*
Last one in, last one standing. Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez won the 2024 Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Not a favorite to win the competition, Hernandez won the derby in his first appearance in the event, also becoming the first Dodgers player to win in franchise history. Hernandez also became the 7th player born in the Dominican Republic to win the derby and second in 3 years after Juan Soto won in 2022.
Hernandez was able to reach the second round of the derby after hitting 19 home runs in the opening round, the last player to make the cut from round one. MLB had a new format for the derby this year, with the 4 hitters to hit the most home runs in round one making the second round.
The second round then became a bracket style, with the player who had the most home runs facing the player with the 4th most, while the second and 3rd most home runs faced off too. Each player had 3 minutes or 40 pitches in the first two rounds to hit home runs, whichever finished first. In the final, it was 27 pitches and two minutes.
Overall, the field consisted of Hernandez, Alec Bohm, Marcell Ozuna, Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Jose Ramirez, Adolis Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. Bohm, Hernandez, Witt Jr, and Ramirez made the cut in round one before Witt Jr outslugged Ramirez in round two to make the finals.
Hernandez faced Bohm in the second round, which needed a tiebreaking swing off to decide. Both players got 3 swings, either home runs or outs was the outcome. Hernandez ended the swing off with 16 home runs total compared to Bohm's 15, giving him a matchup against Witt Jr in the finals.
When the final began, Hernandez hit first and added 14 home runs to his total, setting the stage for Witt Jr to finish things off. It came down to the final swing of the bonus round, with a long drive by Witt Jr just barely coming up short, leaving him at 13 home runs and giving Hernandez the win in dramatic fashion.
Hernandez hit 19 home runs in the first round, 16 in the second round, and 14 in the final to give him 49 on the night as a whole. The winner of the home run derby gets a $1 million prize in addition to the trophy.
Next year's home run derby will take place in Atlanta as part of the All Star week festivities, with the Braves hosting the game and the events before it.
Comments
Post a Comment