ARLINGTON, Texas — When Teoscar Hernández was with the Houston Astros as a rookie, he was a bottom-of-the-order role player. With the Toronto Blue Jays in his prime, Hernández was overshadowed by younger homegrown talent. Now with the high-wattage Los Angeles Dodgers, Hernández is the guy who hits behind Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and the rest of the Hollywood superstars.
On Monday night, it was Hernández’s turn to take the spotlight.
Nearly eliminated in both the first and second rounds, Hernández became the first Dodgers player ever to win the Home Run Derby when he topped Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the final round. Witt’s final swing of the night would have tied but fell just short in center field.
“If I have to bet, it doesn’t matter who I’m going against, I’m going to bet on myself,” Hernández said. “People maybe underestimate myself, and you could see it at the end when Witt was hitting all those homers. But I’m here.”
Hernández was one away from elimination in the first round, and he advanced to the finals by beating Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm in a second-round swing-off. In the finals, Hernández hit 14 home runs. Witt had 13, and his final swing of the night fell just short, hitting the base of center field wall, just feet from tying the competition.
“Oh man, I was nervous,” Hernández said. “That God it didn’t go out, so, super happy.”
TO THE FINALS! #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/BH9sHltlSA
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 16, 2024
The Derby perhaps lacked the flash of some previous competitions. There was no Ken Griffey Jr. moment in Baltimore, or Mark McGwire in Boston, or Josh Hamilton in the Bronx. It didn’t have the electric atmosphere of Julio Rodriguez or Bryce Harper delivering iconic rounds in front of their home crowds. But Hernández was steady, a winner not for his ability to deliver a singular round but to be competitive throughout.
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It helped that some of the big sluggers were eliminated early.
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso was attempting to join Griffey and become only the second three-time Home Run Derby champion, but Alonso did not advance beyond the first round. At one point he went eight swings without a homer and finished the round with only nine (the only participant in single digits at the end of regulation). Alonso added three more in the bonus round, but his total of 12 was the second lowest of any competitor.
“Obviously in it to win it,” Alonso said. “But it’s always really fun out there, so I had a blast doing it.”
Many of the game’s top sluggers have declined to participate in the Home Run Derby in recent years, but this was Alonso’s fifth, making him the eighth player to participate in so many (Griffey has the most with eight). New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge leads the majors with 34 home runs at the break, but he did not participate.
“This is just an event that I’ve really admired since I was a kid,” Alonso said. “I’m basically doing it for my 7- or 8-year-old self.”
He wasn’t the only favorite knocked out early. Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson — like Witt an AL MVP candidate, and the player boasting the most first-half home runs of any participant — finished with only 11 in the first round, the lowest total in the Derby. He hit four in a row at one point, but otherwise never sustained a hot streak.
“My legs were just shot,” Hernández said. “It was an unreal experience, but (watching on TV) doesn’t show how tired you get, and how quick.”
Atlanta Braves DH Marcell Ozuna, who had the second-most first-half homers of any participant, hit the longest home run of the first round (473 feet) but finished with a total of 16. Adolis García of the Texas Rangers was a hometown favorite and proved an expert at hitting balls right down the left-field line and just over the wall in the corner, good for 18 home runs in regulation, but he failed to add any more in the bonus round and fell one short of advancing.
If Ozuna had hit one more home run, Hernández would have been eliminated then and there. Instead, the door was kept open, and Hernández just kept going. On the sideline, current teammate Ohtani told Hernández to go more to left-center rather than trying to pull straight down the line, and former teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. became one of Hernández’s biggest cheerleaders, waving a vintage Hernández Blue Jays jersey.
“That was one of the biggest surprises tonight,” Hernández said.
Some would say the same of the winner.
Required reading
(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
