Teoscar Hernández is the dinger king of 2024.
The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger claimed this year’s Home Run Derby in dramatic fashion at Globe Life Field, besting Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. 14-13 in the final round to claim the $1-million prize.
Hernández was handed the official derby winner’s chain by his former Blue Jays teammate and 2023 derby winner Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – who was wearing Hernández’s old Toronto jersey for the occasion.
Witt nearly pulled out a victory after a slow start to the final round, reaching 11 with a late flurry on his final pitches of regular time. He crushed two more after getting down to his final out in the bonus round and sent a third blast to deep left-center only to see it clank off the wall and give Hernández the title.
Hernández is the first Dodgers player and seventh Dominican-born player to claim the crown.
Check out coverage from the entire derby below:
Championship Round
Round 2
A post-timeout flurry helped a clearly fatigued Bohm storm back to tie Hernández and force a swing-off in the semifinals. But when Bohm couldn’t walk it off in his bonus round, the door opened for his opponent. Hernández crushed two homers on three swings in the tie-breaker, and Bohm couldn’t match him again. That sent Hernández into the finals.
Witt was on a roll in the semis, crushing 17 homers to give himself a comfortable cushion even after a difficult bonus round. Ramírez didn’t come close to matching that total, sending Witt to the final.
Round 1
The final four is set. Gunnar Henderson came up well short in his derby debut, leaving José Ramírez, Alec Bohm, Bobby Witt Jr., and Teoscar Hernández to vie for the $1 million prize. Bohm secured the top seed for the semifinals and a date with Hernández with a 445-foot blast that broke the tie with Ramírez, who will battle Witt.
Ozuna topped Hernández’s prodigal blast with a 473-foot homer. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to get him to the semifinals, as he came up three long balls short.
The Polar Bear has been put back into hibernation. Two-time derby winner Alonso was eliminated after hitting just 12 in the first round. His rough round ensures Bohm, one of the longest shots to win the event, moves on to the semifinals.
Another long shot, Ramírez, knocked out hometown hero García with a magnificent display of power. Hitting from the left side, the switch-hitter matched Bohm’s 21 dingers.
The first of Hernández’s 19 homers traveled 466 feet, the third-longest homer in the history of Globe Life Field, according to The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli.
Almost ready to go
But first we stand for the national anthem, and … uh …
Zoinks! – Gunnar’s ready for dingers
Gunnar Henderson’s going all out for his first derby. The Orioles shortstop unveiled a custom Scooby-Doo bat that he’ll use during the event – and it came complete with a dead-on impression.
MLB introduces new format
Who’s ready for dingers?
Major League Baseball’s 2024 All-Star festivities get going Monday with the Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The loaded field will take part in a newly-tweaked format that’s a hybrid of old and new, with “outs” being reintroduced to the contest.
The first round will see the eight sluggers compete against each other, with the top four totals advancing to the semifinals. Ties in Round 1 will be broken by the longest home-run distance. For the semifinals, the last four standing will be placed in a bracket based on first-round totals, with the No. 1 seed facing No. 4 and No. 2 hitting against No. 3.
Each player gets three minutes or 40 pitches – whichever comes first – at the plate in the first two rounds and two minutes or 27 pitches in the final. Revamped bonus time rules allow players to get unlimited bonus pitches until they’ve recorded three outs within that period. If a home run is hit at least 425 feet during the bonus time, the player is awarded a fourth out. Finally, each player gets one 45-second timeout in each round, though the timeout can’t be used during bonus time.
Got all that? Good. Now, here’s the 2024 Home Run Derby field, with updated odds courtesy theScore Bet. Pete Alonso is the favorite to win his third career Derby, which would tie Ken Griffey Jr.’s all-time record.
PLAYER
TEAM
2024 HRS
ODDS
Pete Alonso
Mets
19
+275
Gunnar Henderson
Orioles
28
+350
Marcell Ozuna
Braves
26
+425
Bobby Witt Jr.
Royals
16
+450
Adolis García
Rangers
17
+550
Teoscar Hernández
Dodgers
19
+800
Alec Bohm
Phillies
11
+1000
José Ramírez
Guardians
23
+1000
You can view the original article HERE.
