Mets first baseman Pete Alonso is tied with Yoenis Cespedes and Prince Fielder with two career Home Run Derby victories, the second most in MLB history.
At Globe Life Field in Texas, Alonso is again looking to join Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as the only two players with three titles to their name.
This is the fifth time Alonso has competed in the Derby, winning in 2019 and 2021. He was defeated by the Seattle Mariners’ outfielder Julio Rodriguez in each of the last two years. Fortunately, for the Mets’ slugger, there is a new format this year and Rodriguez is not participating.
In the new format, each participant got three minutes – or 40 pitches – to hit as many home runs as possible with the the top four advancing to a head-to-head semi-final round. (There is also a three-out bonus round). The same format would be used in the semis and the finals, but the time limit was shortened to two minutes and 27 pitches.
Here is the latest on Alonso’s quest…
Round 1
Alonso, batting fifth, in the competition started by taking the first pitch out of the park and then became the first player in the competition to that point to hit an opposite-field dinger on the fifth pitch.
He called for his timeout with 1:37 left (24 pitches) and at just five home runs.
The Mets’ slugger had a run of six and eight swings without a homer and took several pitches from Dave Jauss.
He entered the three-out bonus round with just nine home runs, but he could earn an extra out by hitting one over 425 feet. Fortunately, Alonso entered the night with 118 (out of 195) homers of over 425 feet in his four previous derbies.
With no clock, Alonso settled in and hit two home runs – 427 feet and 446 feet.
However, he could muster just one additional dinger and was eliminated in the first round with 12.
Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm started off the competition by hitting 20 home runs, Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. hit 20, Texas’s Aroldis Garcia went for 18 and Los Angeles’s Teoscar Hernandez deposited 19 into the stands.
Source Agencies
