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DENVER – New York Mets hitter Pete Alonso became the third consecutive Home Run Derby champion, edging out Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini in the final round on Monday night in front of an electric sold-out crowd in Coors Field.
Mancini, who spent the 2020 season undergoing chemotherapy treatments after being diagnosed with colon cancer, entered with the second longest chance of winning the event. But he beat Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson and Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story to advance to the final round, where he totaled 22 homers.
Alonso followed Mancini in the final, hitting four homers in his first six strokes. He was 12 when he took a time out with 36 seconds remaining in his first two minutes. He produced five more, hitting 17 on entering his 60 seconds of bonus time, then hitting six more in the next 29 seconds to finish with 23 homers and win the trophy, along with a jeweled spinning necklace.
Alonso also clocked 23 home runs to beat Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the final round of the 2019 event. Last year’s All-Star Game and associated festivities were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Two-way Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani, headliner and No.1 seed, was knocked out by Washington Nationals star Juan Soto after an exhilarating first round that included two break-ins. tie and 61 combined circuits, 10 of which covered more than 500 feet.
Ohtani started off slow, producing only one home run in his first 16 strokes. But he rallied late – in part thanks to an impromptu phone call from Angels teammate Mike Trout – and hit two home runs in the final 10 seconds of his turn to tie Soto’s starting total of 22. They each had followed with six homers in the one-minute tiebreaker. But Soto went 3-on-3 in the swing-off that followed as Ohtani produced a hard ground down the right side, ending his night.
This year’s Derby – a three-round, eight-player, bracket-style tournament with timed rounds – was staged in the sport’s best-known hitter stadium, with baseballs that weren’t stored in humidifiers that attempt to normalize the mile-high environment.
The first round showed it.
He produced 208 home runs, three of which surpassed the previous Derby record of 513 feet, set by New York Yankees star Aaron Judge in 2017. Statcast began tracking run distances at the event ago six years.
Ohtani hit 15 home runs that traveled over 475 feet, and Soto hit a 520 feet in the third bridge at center right. Kansas City’s Salvador Perez had 28 home runs, the most ever for a wide receiver, and he barely had a chance to get out of the first round. He lost to Alonso, who hit 35 home runs, the third most of all Derby rounds.
Three of the four clashes in the first round took place on the wire. Olson followed Mancini with one, and his last shot produced a deep drive to the fouled right field. Hot late Texas Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo was a little scared to match Story, but his last shot with time remaining produced a flying ball that fell far from the center field fence.
Story, which is expected to be traded before the end of the month, only hit 12 home runs in the second round, a total Mancini topped with relative ease.
Alonso was a little scared to tie Soto’s total of 15 in the second round, then called the time-out with just over a minute, refused a water, turned to rock the crowd, continued to nod to the music and quickly hit two majestic short homes to qualify for the final round.
He finished with 74 total homers and joined Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Céspedes (2013-14) to win back-to-back titles.
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