CLEVELAND — New York Mets rookie infielder Pete Alonso returned to the very state where his parents were raised and met, and he did his mother and father proud, as the first-year slugger won the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby.
Despite record-setting and record-tying performances in the first two rounds from his counterpart in the finals, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alonso blasted 23 home runs in the last round of competition to secure the victory at Progressive Field in Cleveland Monday night.
Alonso said before The Derby that it was a pretty cool experience for him to be competing in his parents’ home state, and winning definitely seemed to enhance the excitement, as he jubilantly celebrated the victory with his personal pitcher.
“O-H,” Alonso said in the pre-Home Run Derby press conference.
“My parents are hometown sweethearts from Ohio, and my entire mom’s side is from here, and from here in the greatest state ever, and I’m excited (laughter). I’m excited. It’s going to be a family affair. I have a bunch of people in town. It’s going to be a blast. I’m really excited.”
Alonso is just the third rookie in history to win the Home Run Derby, joining co-champion Wally Joyner (1986) and New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (2017) in elite company.
Guerrero Jr. hit 20 home runs in regulation during the finals, and in bonus time, which was given to players with at least two homers of 440 feet in traveled distance, added two more blasts to post a total of 22 after record-setting and tying performances in the first two rounds of the competition.
Just as he did in each of the first two rounds, Alonso surged in the final two minutes, and it was just enough to seal the win. Alonso qualified for bonus time in each of the three rounds of competition, but did not need any of it to advance in the field.
Combined over the first two rounds, Guerrero Jr. hit 69 home runs, which including a record-breaking first-round showing, as well as a record-tying second-round effort.
Guerrero Jr. narrowly missed besting his record from the first round when his final swing of the second round came up just short of clearing the wall, so he settled for twice having the best single-round total in Home Run Derby history, but in short order, there was company joining him at the top of the list.
After watching Guerrero Jr. belt 29 home runs, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson matched that total with a late rally in regulation and a solid showing in the 30-second bonus period.
In the first tiebreaker, in which each competitor got 60 seconds to hit as many as home runs as they could, Guerrero Jr. and Pederson each hit eight over the wall. Following that run-off, the semifinal matchup moved into a three-swing tiebreaker.
Both players hit one home run during the first three-swing battle, but it was Guerrero Jr. who belted two round-trippers in the second three-swing tiebreaker, which put him into the finals when Pederson only put one over the wall.
The youngest participant in Home Run Derby history, Guerrero Jr. broke the old record, which was set by Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton in the 2008 competition. Hamilton hit 28 home runs, several of which flirted with leaving the stadium grounds, in the first round of the 2008 Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
Now Guerrero Jr. and Pederson stand atop the all-time leaderboard with 29 home runs in a single round.
