Fact: the home run derby is the best all-star weekend event in professional sports. That is especially considering that every dunk imaginable has already been done.
"Can't Hold Us" by Washington state native Macklemore played throughout the opening hype video on ESPN, a fitting tune given what was about to transpire: a group of top-tier baseball players launching balls into orbit.
The elite eight were introduced in front of a raucous crowd inside T-Mobile Park. While all of the competitors received nice ovations, it was local star Julio Rodríguez who the fans went ballistic for. "J-Rod," the reigning American League rookie of the year, fell to fellow Dominican Republic native Juan Soto in the 2022 derby final.
Good friends Randy Arozarena and Adolis García led off the festivities. The two all-stars were formerly teammates in the St. Louis Cardinals' organization before finding homes in Tampa and Arlington, respectively. How close are they: García is the godfather of Arozarena's daughter. That in itself just goes to show how special this matchup is to them.
Arozarena finished with a solid 24 homers despite some low pitches by Rays' field coordinator Tomas Francisco. A fun-loving guy, Arozarena sported a big smile on his face anytime he found himself on a bit of a roll.
Unfortunately for García, Rangers' third base coach Tony Beasley looked as if he was trying to strike him out at times. Some of the pitches were nowhere near a place in which García could work. He came away with a respectable 17, not enough to best his good friend.
García took to the plate with Rangers' teammate and designated babysitter Josh Jung watching from the sidelines. Jung joined García as part of the group of eight all-stars coming in from Texas. The pair have been insurmountable in helping the Rangers reach the top of the American League West.
The growing superstar that is Adley Rutschman continued to impress. He was given the lowest odds of winning the competition at +2000 (per BetMGM), but was determined to prove doubters wrong.
The switch-hitting sensation is no stranger to the derby, especially when in Seattle; the native of nearby Portland, Oregon took part in the 2006 Pitch Hit and Run program. Now 17 years later, and Rutschman was taking the field in the batter's box. And to makes matters even more special, his father Randy Rutschman would be pitching to him.
Adley put on a spectacular display, getting into nice rhythms while showing off his pretty swing. He really got the crowd going following the break when he began batting right-handed after beginning his turn from the left side. That is unheard of in a derby. The younger Rutschman finished with a staggering 27 bombs, including going seven-of-eight in the 30-second bonus round. That would put No. 1 seed Luis Robert Jr. in a tough spot.
'La Pantera' was able to come through with some strong stretches to match Rutschman's 27 with a full 60 seconds of bonus time still to come; Robert got the one extra shot he needed to eliminate Rutschman in a thrilling battle.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - with Blue Jays' manager John Schneider pitching for him - rattled off a cool 26 in his opening round. ESPN committed an error when they asked Bo Bichette to interview Guerrero during a break, only for the broadcast to cut to a picture-in-picture commercial. Bichette was talking, but we simply couldn't hear him. Odd choice, that.
Bichette did get to ask Juan Soto a little later on what Guerrero needed to do to win the competition. Safe to say that he agreed with Soto's advice:
Mookie Betts never gave himself a chance. It was an uphill battle from the get-go.
While the superstar former AL MVP is immensely talented, he knew that he was the true underdog in this competition. Betts joked leading up to the event that he was in tough against some of the most powerful hitters in the league. He mustered up just 11 blasts while impressively opting not to use his timeout.
J. D. Martinez, Betts' teammate in Los Angeles who knows a thing or two about power, made his way down to the batter's box before Mookie's 30-second bonus round to offer some advice. He suggested that Betts pull the ball and hit towards left field. Betts hilariously responded by stating he didn't know how to do that.
All in all, it was fun to see Betts take part in the competition. He is one of the biggest stars in the game, and is seemingly a delight to be around. Guerrero made his way through to the next round.
Julio Rodríguez may not have won the competition (spoiler alert), but he may very well have been the star of the show. The Mariners' youngster came out to a thunderous applause and seemingly used that to fuel one of the most historic displays in derby history.
The 22-year-old rattled off blasts in eight of his first nine pitches faced, and it truly felt like each ball thrown turned into a souvenir for fans. The kid finished with an astounding 41, setting the single-round record. My goodness.
Watch this video linked below. Listen to that crowd, and check out all of the players go and congratulate him. J-Rod made history in his own ball park, and Mariners' fans have to be feeling pretty giddy right about now.
Pete Alonso was looking very determined heading into the competition. As our own Andrew D'Amato pointed out to me via text, Alonso was the only one not to smile during the introduction. He was looking to draw with Mariners' great Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players with three-career derby wins.
Coming back down 41, however is less than ideal.
Alonso looked solid to begin things. That shouldn't come as a surprise given the pop he possesses. He is the all-time leader in overall derby home runs with 195, over 30 more than the next highest on the list in Vlad Jr. (163). He came into his break at the 1:21 mark with 11 homers to his name.
"Pancake tacos is a fantastic idea" is the text I received from Andrew during the pause, as a mouth-watering IHOP ad was aired. I would like to state that I do very much agree with Andrew here: pancake tacos do sound delicious.
Back to baseball. Alonso struggled a bit in the second half and simply couldn't muster up enough long balls. He ended up with 21 which is fine. 41 is an incredibly tough mark to reach. With that, Rodríguez eliminated Alonso for the second-straight competition; he did so in last year's semifinal in a 31-23 finish. The crowd was electric for Rodríguez's advancement, as expected. The two combatants embraced following Alonso's turn. The Mets' star was blown away by what he had seen from Rodríguez, simply saying "wow" in disbelief. It was a touching moment between two of the game's best.
Arozarena improved on his round one totals, scoring 35 in his second go-around. He seemed to learn from his first turn; he was taking his time a little more and really seeing the ball better. He would take balls and initiate small resets. But these changes did not slow him down, they made him even better. Learning on the fly and picking up on how to improve allowed him to mash more than before.
Robert's performance was a tale of two tapes between rounds. While he did launch the night's longest ball at 484 feet, he just could not get a flow going. Part of the reason was due to White Sox bullpen catcher Luis Sierra. The former minor leaguer was having trouble locating pitches, something the commentators made sure to note. Robert came away with 22, punching Arozarena's ticket to the final.
The Tampa star was interviewed following Robert's performance. He was asked how he felt about his chances on winning the competition. It was fair to have doubt in Arozarena given the fact he would be facing either Guerrero or Rodríguez. He kept his answer honest.
“I never have good chances, but somehow I always win.”
41 would be a difficult number for Rodríguez to replicate in his second-round performance. The crowd was all fired up to see their guy attempt to. He looked composed, took his time and did a solid job of locating pitches. Pitcher and Rodríguez's longtime friend Franmy Peña received some props from the commentators for his swell job of keeping the balls easy to hit. Fatigue undoubtedly set in for Rodríguez, who finished with 20.
While fans from all over the country flock to root on the all-stars, the guy from the local club is unsurprisingly going to receive some bias cheering. That's why fans would clap and yell anytime Guerrero grounded out. But Guerrero didn't let that get to him. He put on a strong performance and took a more methodical approach at the plate, much like most of the second-round features did. Guerrero managed to reach 20 at the end of regulation, needing just one more to clinch a finals berth with 60 seconds of bonus time on the horizon. He came through with no. 21 to set up an all-AL East championship.
Was this a small taste of revenge given how last season's Wild Card series between the Mariners and Blue Jays went? Maybe a little.
Given the seeding, Guerrero was forced to go first. That isn't always a bad thing, being able to set the tone and all. But having to go back-to-back could prove costly.
It wasn't.
Guerrero worked into strong stretches, taking his time while also utilizing each pitch to the best of his advantage. He had the obvious power edge over Arozarena. This was key given Guerrero's easier ability to reach the 440+-yard mark. Two of those earned each player an additional 30 seconds of play. Guerrero came away with 25 home runs at the conclusion of his turn.
Arozarena took to the mound after a near 50-minute wait time in-between his go's. He briefly teased slipping into his iconic cowboy boots for the finale, but opted to just keep them close by instead. He was going to need to go all-out here. The nice thing is that he entered round three having hit 24 and 35 home runs in rounds one and two, respectively. The downside here, however, is that those numbers were achieved in the three-minute sections; the final is only two. Arozarena was going to need to do all he could to reach the maximum bonus time. We also should mention that he hadn't achieved a shot of 440+ feet all day long.
Arozarena struggled to kick things off. The pressure could have been getting to him a bit. He settled down and into a nice flow. Rattling balls off left and right, that elusive 440-foot benchmark continued to avert him. He never ended up reaching that number, but did connect on 21 with just the 30-second extra round still to go. What a finish this is setting up to be.
He stepped back up to the plate and managed two long balls in that time, finishing just two shy of Guerrero with 23. It is all over. But even despite the loss, Arozarena kept spirits high with that same smile plastered across his face.
Guerrero ran onto the field to celebrate his victory, his team not far behind. He made his way right to his fallen foe and "mocked" him by doing Arozarena's famous crossed-arms taunt. The two laughed and embraced, showing that this competition is all just for fun.
Griffey presented Guerrero with the trophy, while Seattle Seahawks great Marshawn Lynch placed the derby chain around Guerrero's neck. The youngster celebrated in front of the crowd to conclude an exciting few hours. He now joins his father, Vlad Sr., as a home run derby champion, and the first father-son duo to do so in league history.
Guerrero hasn't been his dominant self this season. His 13 home runs are fine, but this is a player who hit 48 just two seasons ago. Maybe his performance Monday was the confidence booster he needed as the second-half of the schedule kicks off post-break. The Blue Jays will need him at the top of his game if they are to emerge from a stacked division.
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