Everyone digs the longball.
Major League Baseball 2022 Home Run Derby Monday night 92nd All-Star Game in Los Angeles. This year’s derby features some of the best sluggers in baseball, including two-time defending champion Pete Alonso, the first player in history to win three in a row.
Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, who leads the National League with 29 home runs at the break, is No. 1 overall and faces 42-year-old Albert Pujols in the first round. Pujols, playing in his last season, has participated in the derby four times in his career – 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2015.
All-Star Game: Clayton Kershaw will get the start at Dodger Stadium
MLB Upsides: The best and worst from the first half
Keep it here all night long for live coverage of the Home Run Derby:
First round
No. 1 Kyle Schwarber (Phillies) vs. no. 8 Albert Pujols (Cardinals)
- Pujols – 13 HR – Long 434 feet: In his final home run derby, the 42-year-old was showered with love from fans and teammates, who all embraced him before bonus time.
- Schwarber – 13 HR – Longest 470 feet: The 2018 runner-up struggled throughout his round and was unable to get the winner over the fence in bonus time. We want a tiebreaker!
No. 4. Juan Soto (Nationals) defeated No. 5 Jose Ramirez (Guardians)
- Ramirez – 17 HR – Longest 421 feet: Cleveland’s star, who batted right-handed, kept drilling balls into the left-field bleachers, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop Soto.
- Soto – 18 HR – Long 482 feet: Made it look easy and didn’t even need his full minute of bonus time, stopping it while settling for a second.
No. 2 Pete Alonso (Mets) defeated No. 7 Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves).
- Acuna – 19 HR – Length 472 feet: Couldn’t find his footing early enough to get 30 seconds of bonus time. Running out of gas at the end, but a great effort from a guy who tore his ACL just days before last year’s All-Star Game.
- Alonso – 20 HR – Longest 480 feet : It didn’t look like much for Alonso when he had a minute left, but as he does, he got hot when it mattered and called it quits halfway through his bonus time.
No. 6 Julio Rodriguez (Mariners) beat no.3. Corey Seager (Rangers)
- Rodriguez – 32 HR – Longest 463 feet: The 21-year-old rookie hit 14 home runs before retiring halfway through the three-minute round. He got a pep talk from Mookie Betts before bonus time and added seven more in the extra minute.
- Seager – 24 HR – Long 451 feet: With his dad on the mound, the former Dodger is standing in right field with homers and has been hot late in the round, but not enough to catch Rodriguez. Fans loved it though
Semi-final matches
No. 2 Pete Alonso (Mets) vs. No. 6 Julio Rodriguez (Marines)
No. 4 Juan Soto (Nationals) vs. Kyle Schwarber/Albert Pujols winner
Pete Alonso reveals Derby batting
The “Polar Bear” carries some special logs.
Alonso brings back pitcher Dave Jaz
Last year, then-Mets bench coach Dave Jass, the two-time defending champion, was the pitcher for the Home Run Derby. Although Jazz now works as a consultant in the Nationals organization, he will be throwing to Alonso on Monday in Los Angeles.
Check out highlights from last year’s Home Run Derby
