The Coors Field Home Run Derby did not disappoint
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Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Home Run Derby at Coors Field did not disappoint. MLB turned off the humidor and let the balls fly through the Rocky Mountain air and boy did they fly. Juan Soto hit the longest home run of the night with a 520 foot bomb that demolished the previous Home Run Derby record [VIDEO].
But the winner of the Derby isn’t the man who hits the furthest home run, it’s the man left standing at the end. In 2021 that man was Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who crushed last night’s Home Run Derby to win back-to-back campaigns. He can take the swag chain they gave him for the 2021 Home Run Derby and put it next to the trophy he won during the 2019 competition. It will make for quite the trophy wall:
Pete Alonso began his Home Run Derby title defense in grand style
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Pete Alonso repeats as Home Run Derby champion
A re-Pete, for the Home Run Derby.
Posted: Jul 12, 2021 10:08 PM
Posted By: Associated Press
Pete Alonso of the New York Mets became the third back-to-back Home Run Derby champion, beating No. 6 seed Trey Mancini in the final.
Alonso and his blue-and-orange bat went 6 for 6 in a 28-second stretch to give him 23 homers in the final round after Mancini hit 22 in the thin Rocky Mountain air.
The 26-year-old Alonso joins Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Céspedes (2013-14) as the only players to win two straight. Alonso has one distinction, though - his titles are over three seasons. There wasn’t an event last season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pete Alonso: 23 (finals), 74 total
A favorite coming into the night and a heavy favorite after his seemingly effortless 51 homers across the first two rounds, Alonso remained serene on the staging couch as he watched Trey Mancini put up 22 dingers. That was a daunting target (just one shy of Alonso’s final round record of 23 back in 2019), but the Polar Bear’s first swing a 111 mph, 509-foot shot toward the left-field concourse erased any sign of nerves.
Alonso continued to make it look as if he could do the Derby in his sleep, reaching 12 taters and repeatedly drawing ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the Coors Field crowd before he took his timeout with 36 seconds left in regulation. An extended timeout and a hilarious hit-by-pitch from Alonso’s BP pitcher, Mets bench coach Dave Jauss, hardly broke Alonso’s concentration.
By Pat Ragazzo | Last updated 7/12/21
Reigning Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso captured his second-straight long ball title at Coors Field on Monday night.
With Mets bench coach Dave Jauss pitching to him, Alonso set a single-round record with 35 home runs in the opening round of the Home Run Derby.
While most believed the final round would see Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani in it, the AL MVP favorite was eliminated in a swing-off in the first round by Juan Soto.
Facing off against his NL East division rival in Soto, who slugged 15 homers, Alonso knocked him out with time to spare behind 16 big flies in round two.
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