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Pete Alonso’s defense of his Home Run Derby title had a historic start.
The Mets first baseman, who won the event in 2019, broke a record 35 home runs in the first round at Coors Field on Monday night. He broke the previous record of 28 set by Josh Hamilton of the Rangers in 2008 at Yankees Stadium when the competition was held in a different format.
“It’s everything I dreamed of when I was young,” Alonso told ESPN. “I live in the present moment.”
Alonso’s longest home run was 514 feet and the hardest was 115 mph. It hit 16 of its explosions at 450 feet or more. He said ahead of the event at this year’s MLB All-Star Game that he would win it again and easily advanced to the next round after the Royals’ Salvador Perez reached 28.
“Wow, just wow,” Fernando Tatis told ESPN of Alonso’s first round. The Padres star has admitted he would love to face the 26-year-old slugger. “One day, I’m looking forward to it.
Alonso, 26, is hitting .250 with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs this season for the first-place Mets.
There was no circuit derby in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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