Home Rub Derby: Alonso retains his crown
Jul 12, 2021, 9:12 PM
The return of the Home Run Derby after a year without the event brought big expectations with even bigger results.
ALONSO RETAINS HIS CROWN đź‘‘ pic.twitter.com/N7EOZ8KiiU
— Kendall Valenzuela (@kvalenzuela17) July 13, 2021
Defending champion Pete Alonso retained his crown in incredible fashion after defeating Trey Mancini in the finals.
Per ESPN, his $1 million prize for winning the Derby is more than his salary this season. Not a bad time to be Pete Alonso.
Alonso was on a mission all night, starting with hitting a first-round record 35 home runs. He then went on to defeat Nationals’ Juan Soto in the semifinals before beating Mancini in the finals.
The winning home run number was 23.
Alonso was to the first back-to-back winner since Yoenis Cespedes in 2013 and 2014.
Colorado Rockies own Trevor Story rewrote the record books in the first round when he launched a 518-foot home run. The previous record was held by Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge in the 2017 Derby, when he hit a 513-foot home run
Of course in true Home Run Derby at altitude style, the record was broken when Soto hit a 520-foot home run.
Another notable matchup was in round one when Shohei Ohtani and Soto went to double overtime.
It took a final swing-off (yes, that’s a thing), in which Soto hit three towering moon shots and Ohtani hit a grounder in his first swing, for a winner to advance.
