Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

18 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

18 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

19 hours ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

19 hours ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

22 hours ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

23 hours ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

23 hours ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

24 hours ago
Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández Wins the Home Run Derby
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 12 months ago on
July 16, 2024

National League's Teoscar Hernández, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, poses for photos with the winner's trophy after the MLB baseball All-Star Home Run Derby, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP/Julio Cortez)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

ARLINGTON — When Teoscar Hernández needed a moment to calm down during the Home Run Derby, the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger got a boost from a former teammate who just happened to be last year’s champion.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wore a Blue Jays jersey with Hernández’s name and No. 37 on the back as he watched the competition, honoring his friend from their time as Toronto teammates from 2017-22.

“That was a surprise of the night,” Hernández said. “He brings my jersey from Toronto. And when he goes to home plate, he was trying to calm (me) down, and so he had passed two times, and it works. He said he wanted to help me going into the last round.”

Hernández won the Home Run Derby when he beat local star Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals 14-13 in the final round Monday night.

The 31-year-old Hernández hit 49 homers over three rounds that totaled 3.98 miles and became the first Dodgers player to win the derby among 11 who have tried. While not participating in the derby this year, Guerrero gave Hernández advice during breaks.

“If I have to bet, it doesn’t matter who I’m going against, I’m going to bet on myself,” Hernández said when asked if he felt like the underdog. “People maybe underestimate myself.”

Witt’s Performance

Witt, needing one home run to tie with one out remaining, drove a ball to one of the deepest parts of Globe Life Field in left-center, where it hit halfway up the wall to the left of the 410-foot sign.

“When I hit it I knew I kind of — I didn’t hit it great. But, yeah, I just was trying to blow on it or something,” Witt said with a chuckle. “The first thing I thought was just no pop. … We got to do a couple more curls or something.”

Kansas City has never had a derby winner.

Both finished their two-minute final round with 11 homers, before bonus swings were added. Witt came up short of his first two bonus swings, then hit two homers in a row — one a 457-foot drive that got him one more swing.

Witt was the No. 2 overall pick by the Royals in 2019 out of Colleyville Heritage High School, about 15 miles north of the Rangers’ stadium. It was his first time in the derby, but he was the high school home run champion in Washington in 2018 — and is the only player to compete in both contests.

The 24-year-old Witt finished with 50 homers overall that traveled 3.8 miles.

Semifinals and First Round

Witt had knocked out Cleveland switch-hitter José Ramírez 17-12 in the semifinals. Hernández beat Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm 16-15 after a tiebreaker when both got three swings — Hernández hit two out, and Bohm one. They were tied at 14 after the three-minute segment and their bonus rounds, and Bohm came close to avoiding that, but the last ball he hit then landed on the warning track in left-center field.

Ramírez and Bohm both hit 21 homers to pace the first round. Witt started with 20 homers and Hernández had 19.

The New York Mets’ Pete Alonso fell short in his bid to join Ken Griffey Jr. as a three-time derby champion when he hit only 12 homers in the first round.

Instead of a single-elimination bracket like last year, the four hitters with the most homers in the first round advanced to the semifinal round. It then became a bracket-style competition.

Other Participants

Alonso hit a 428-foot homer to left-centerfield on his first swing, but couldn’t get into a rhythm. The others knocked out after the first round were hometown favorite Adolis García of Texas, Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson.

“It’s disappointing, but for me, I think it’s really just a blessing and it’s just fun being out there,” said Alonso who has 207 homers in his five derby appearances. “At the end of the day, it wasn’t my day.”

Ozuna did have the longest homer of the night at 473 feet. The longest homers hit during games at the stadium were 472 feet — by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels in 2022, and Oakland’s Seth Brown in 2021.

Bohm, one of a franchise-record eight Phillies named All-Stars, has only 11 homers this season — the fewest among the eight derby competitors. He said he was going to try to hit as many balls as he could to left field and did — pulling all 21 of his homers that way in the first round.

Derby Conditions

It still felt like 100 degrees (38 Celsius) outside the ballpark when the derby began, but the retractable roof was closed on the stadium that opened in 2020. When the Rangers hosted the 1995 All-Star Game across the street in their old stadium without a roof, the derby wasn’t yet a prime-time event and was held in the sweltering mid-afternoon heat.

Frank Thomas won in 1995 with 15 homers over three rounds in a different format. Albert Belle finished with a total of 16, then a Home Run Derby record, but Thomas beat him 3-2 in the final round.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

DON'T MISS

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

DON'T MISS

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

DON'T MISS

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

DON'T MISS

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

UP NEXT

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

UP NEXT

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

UP NEXT

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

15 hours ago

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

15 hours ago

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

16 hours ago

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

16 hours ago

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

16 hours ago

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

16 hours ago

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

17 hours ago

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

17 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

18 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

18 hours ago

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

The Fresno Police Department will step up enforcement efforts this Fourth of July, deploying additional patrols and setting up a DUI checkpo...

60 minutes ago

60 minutes ago

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

2 hours ago

July 4th Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Founding Fathers

A crash causes a traffic jam in northwest Fresno on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (GV Wire/Paul Marshall)
14 hours ago

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned 52,593 acres with 5% containment, prompting evacuation orders in several San Luis Obispo County zones as of Thursday, July 3, 2025, afternoon. (CalFire)
15 hours ago

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

15 hours ago

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

16 hours ago

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

An ICE agent talks with migrants about their scheduled appointments with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Father’s Day, to learn about their immigration status, in Chicago, Illinois., U.S., June 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

Boeing logo and miniature satellite model are seen in this illustration taken, March 10, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend