ARLINGTON, Tex. (Jul 15) — Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez has won the 2024 T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field. He defeated Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.. The night ended with a thrilling final round that had the crowd of 38,578 on the edge of their seats. Witt needed one homer to tie, but his last out hit the wall, ending the suspense.
This year’s Home Run Derby field was not only star-studded, but also featured an intriguing mix of young superstars and veteran sluggers. They were also swinging under new rules.
Homer Breakdown
Hernández took a timeout in the final round. He chatted with Toronto Blue Jays first baseman and former teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and it proved crucial in his performance going forward. The slugger belted five homers in six swings at one point not long after the pause. Hernandez averaged 430 feet on his 14 home runs, including two 449-foot blasts during bonus time. His longest homer, toward the end of regulation, traveled 454 feet. Hernandez also took part in a swing-off with Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm.
Teoscar Hernández got the better of Bohm in the first swing-off of the 2024 Derby as both players hit 14 home runs in their respective semifinal swings. Hernandez homered on the last two of his three swings, ending things with his longest homer of the round (456 feet). Bohm homered on his second swing but couldn’t clear the fence on his final attempt, eliminating him and sending Hernandez to the finals. Bohm finished the evening with 36 dingers. Teoscar Hernandez finished with 49 total homers on the evening. Witt Jr. had 33 total homers on the evening.
New Rules
In 2023, the entire Derby was an eight-person, single-elimination bracket, with three rounds. The No. 1 seed faced the No. 8 seed in the first round, and the No. 2 seed faced the No. 7 seed, and so on, with seeds being determined by how many regular-season homers each player had hit up to that point. As such, the entire competition was “knockout style,” with any player needing to win three separate one-on-one matchups to win the overall title.
In 2024, there was still an element of one-on-one showdowns, but that didn’t come into play until the semifinals. This year’s first round didn’t have any predetermined seeds. Instead, it consisted of all eight hitters competing, with the top four performers advancing to the semifinals. At that point, the format shifted to No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3, but those seeds were determined by the number of homers each player hit in the first round. They had nothing to do with regular-season performance.
More General Baseball Articles
More MLB Articles
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
- Category
-
General Baseball
