Home Run Derby highlights: Teoscar Hernandez narrowly beats Bobby Witt Jr.

Teoscar Hernández sat next to his wife, nervously sipping a Gatorade, watching as Bobby Witt Jr. almost pulled it off.

Down to the final out of Monday night’s Home Run Derby in Arlington, Tex., Hernández clung to a one-home-run lead. He saw Witt, the budding Kansas City Royals superstar, launch a ball toward the deepest part of Globe Life Field. But instead of clearing the center field wall, the ball smacked off it.

Hernández rejoiced, kissing his wife and celebrating one of the unlikeliest achievements of his nine-year MLB career. The 31-year-old Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, who has hit 178 career home runs with four different franchises, was the surprise champion of this year’s derby, outlasting Witt in a dramatic 14-13 final round.

Hernández, the seventh player from the Dominican Republic to win the derby, had a sluggish start to his final round, hitting four home runs in his first 13 pitches before calling a time out.

His former teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the 2023 derby champion, instructed him to keep swinging for the left field bullpen, advice Hernández seemed to take to heart. After the break, Hernández homered on five of his next six pitches and finished with 11 in the two-minute timed portion. He added three more home runs in the untimed bonus round — two of which sailed 449 feet — to post a strong final-round score of 14.

Advertisement

Witt, who at 24 was the second-youngest player in the derby field, nearly caught him. Swinging a bat imprinted with a Lone Star, the native of nearby Colleyville used a late flurry in the timed portion of the final round to finish with 11 home runs, the last of which generated a swing so hard that it knocked off his hat. He managed two more home runs in the untimed portion — which Hernández later conceded left him feeling the pressure — but just barely missed a tying shot.

“Man, this is amazing,” Hernández told ESPN while clutching the winner’s trophy. “Everything that I’m feeling right now, there’s no words I can describe what I’m feeling for my family and for everybody that is here.” — Sapna Bansil

Continue reading for highlights from Monday night’s Home Run Derby.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeBcHyWaGhuZ5ikuqZ50a6lZpyVp6%2B6ecuirZ5loprAtrjTrGSuqJSWwaa%2FjLCgp6aVp3quuMFo