A two-time Home Run Derby champ, the son of a Derby champ, a hometown hero, an MVP, a native Northwesterner and a trio of Cuban countrymen launched majestic dingers into the night at T-Mobile Park on Monday, but only one of them came away with a trophy.
The Blue Jays slugger, who was seeded No. 6, had to go through Mookie Betts in the opening round before dispatching of hometown hero Julio Rodríguez in the semifinals, after Seattle’s star had set a Derby record with 41 homers in the opening round. Vlad Jr. then defeated Randy Arozarena in an epic finals showdown.
Read on for a round-by-round breakdown.
No. 6 Vlad Guerrero Jr. defeats No. 5 Randy Arozarena
Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays: 25 finals homers
As the lower seed, Guerrero had to start off the finals immediately after closing out the semifinal round by beating Julio Rodríguez. The Blue Jays slugger heated up after an early timeout, crushing 14 home runs in the final 1:13 of regulation — a homer every 5.2 seconds. Guerrero finished the shorter two-minute regulation period with 20 homers, then hit another five in his minute of bonus time. He hit a pair of 445-foot homers to get the bonus and hit 112 mph on one of his homers.
LONGEST HR: 445 feet
HARDEST HR: 112 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 408 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 104.6 mph
Arozarena, Rays: 23 finals homers
Arozarena clobbered 82 total home runs, the second most of any Derby participant ever, but it was not enough to overcome Vlad Jr.’s 25 home runs in the final round. After a slow start in the finals, Arozarena nearly made up for it by going on a torrid pace to finish, hitting 15 home runs in the final 90 seconds. It was quite the performance from the electric Rays slugger, who continues to find a knack for shining in the biggest moments.
LONGEST HR: 438 feet
HARDEST HR: 109 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 397 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 101.2 mph
No. 6 Vlad Guerrero Jr. defeats No. 7 Julio Rodríguez
Guerrero, Jays: 21 semifinal homers
Vlad Jr. demolished 21 tape-measure home runs in just over three minutes to move on to the final round. His 21 home runs traveled an average of 416 feet while nearly a quarter of them (5) traveled 440+ feet, including two upwards of 450 feet. A smaller HR output from his counterpart, Rodríguez, allowed Vlad Jr. to advance to the final round shortly after starting his bonus time.
LONGEST HR: 453 feet
HARDEST HR: 112 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 416 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 105.6 mph
Rodríguez, Mariners: 20 semifinal homers
Rodríguez cooled down quickly in the semifinals after setting a single-round Home Run Derby record with 41 homers in the first round. After 32 homers in regulation in the opening round, he managed 16 in the semis. Nine of Rodríguez’s final 10 swings in regulation failed to result in homers, and he hit a lot of high fly balls at lower exit velocities that failed to clear the fence. He added four homers in bonus time to finish the round with 20 and didn’t hit one longer than 426 feet.
LONGEST HR: 426 feet
HARDEST HR: 107 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 399 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 99.0 mph
No. 5 Randy Arozarena defeats No. 1 Luis Robert Jr.
Arozarena, Rays: 35 semifinal homers
Riding the frenetic pace that helped him defeat Adolis García in the first round, Arozarena used a scorching final minute to put together a strong semifinal performance. After getting his extra 30 seconds of bonus time by virtue of 447-foot and 442-foot home runs, Arozarena slugged 12 homers in the final 46 seconds of regulation time to reach 30 homers. In his full minute of bonus time, Arozarena added another five.
LONGEST HR: 447 feet
HARDEST HR: 109 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 407 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 100.7 mph
Robert, White Sox: 22 semifinal homers
Robert overcame a 27-HR first round from Rutschman, but he was unable to overcome an even larger 35-HR barrage from Arozarena in the semifinals. While he was unable to advance to the finals, Robert compiled some of the most impressive home runs of the Derby. At the end of his semifinal round, he had the six farthest home runs of the night, including a 484-foot home run in the semis.
LONGEST HR: 484 feet
HARDEST HR: 113 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 415 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 103.8 mph
No. 7 Julio Rodríguez defeats No. 2 Pete Alonso
Rodríguez, Mariners: 41 first-round homers
Seattle’s hometown hero put on a show from the start in his first round, hitting homers at an absolutely scorching pace and never letting up. Rodríguez broke the all-time Derby record with 41 home runs in a record-setting round, besting Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s 2019 semifinal total of 40. He reached 10 homers in less than a minute and 20 in less than two minutes. He finished regulation with a whopping 32 homers on 44 swings, then added another nine in bonus time. Rodríguez posted his third career Home Run Derby round of 30-plus homers — and this one was by far the most impressive as the young Mariners slugger made history in front of his home fans.
LONGEST HR: 452 feet
HARDEST HR: 109 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 404 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 101.9 mph
Alonso, Mets: 21 first-round homers
Alonso, the two-time Derby champion, had an insurmountable first-round challenge following up Rodríguez, who set a single-round record with 41 home runs. For the second Derby in a row, a heavyweight matchup between Alonso and Rodríguez went to the Seattle superstar. At a slower pace than in years past and without his usual Derby pitcher, Alonso hit just 21 first-round homers.
LONGEST HR: 457 feet
HARDEST HR: 113.0 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 419 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 106.0 mph
No. 5 Randy Arozarena defeats No. 4 Adolis García
Arozarena, Rays: 24 first-round homers
Thanks to a furious bonus round featuring five homers in 30 seconds, Arozarena managed to produce a strong first round. A slow start and slow finish limited his numbers in regulation — he went homerless in his first five swings and failed to homer on seven straight swings in the final minute — but the Rays outfielder still managed to hit 19 homers before bonus time thanks to an extremely fast pace.
LONGEST HR: 442 feet
HARDEST HR: 110 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 405 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 103.3 mph
García, Rangers: 17 first-round homers
In a first-round matchup, García was unable to defeat Arozarena, his friend and former Cardinals minor league teammate, hitting 17 home runs compared to Arozarena’s 24. García’s biggest issue was a cold stretch at the end, when he homered just twice in the final minute of time (including the additional 30 seconds).
LONGEST HR: 438 feet
HARDEST HR: 110 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 400 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 102.3 mph
No. 1 Luis Robert Jr. defeats No. 8 Adley Rutschman
Robert Jr., White Sox: 28 first-round homers
Robert showed why he was the top-ranked seed in this tournament. On the heels of Rutschman launching 27 first-round home runs, Robert hit 27 … before he reached his extra minute of bonus time. Robert launched 28 home runs that averaged a whopping 426 feet while hitting seven 440+ foot home runs, topping out at 470 feet.
LONGEST HR: 470 feet
HARDEST HR: 112 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 426 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 105.6 mph
Rutschman, Orioles: 27 first-round homers
Rutschman showed off what he could do in an electric first-round performance against Luis Robert Jr. After crushing 21 home runs left-handed — including a 445-foot bomb to right field — in regulation, Rutschman came back out for his 30 seconds of bonus time and turned around to bat right-handed. He didn’t miss a beat, adding six more homers for a 27-homer showing.
LONGEST HR: 445 feet
HARDEST HR: 108 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 398 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 102.6 mph
No. 6 Vlad Guerrero Jr. defeats No. 3 Mookie Betts
Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays: 26 first-round homers
Guerrero started his first round off with a bang, clubbing a 453-foot blast after four straight pitches without a homer. He quickly managed to hit two homers of 440-plus feet — later adding a 456-foot bomb — to get his full minute of bonus time. Despite starting to tire after his timeout midway through regulation, Guerrero crushed nine homers in his 60-second bonus time to get to an impressive total of 26.
LONGEST HR: 456 feet
HARDEST HR: 112 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 402 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 104.0 mph
Betts, Dodgers: 11 first-round homers
On pace for the first 40-HR season of his career, Betts had the unfortunate task of facing off against Vlad Jr. in the first round. With little room for error, Betts fell short of Guerrero’s 26 first-round total with just 11 home runs. He cooled off considerably at the end, going homerless on his last seven swings.
LONGEST HR: 427 feet
HARDEST HR: 103 mph
AVG. HR DISTANCE: 396 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 98.7 mph
