Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was the home run king Monday night in San Diego. With 20 home runs in the final round, Stanton toppled defending champion Todd Frazier 20-13 in the 2016 MLB Home Run Derby in Petco Park.
Stanton was a more than deserving winner based on the totality of his performance. Baseball Tonight shared the distances of the longest home runs, and he owned a monopoly on the list:
His 61 homers over the course of the event were also a Derby record, per Baseball Tonight. Jose Fernandez’s pre-Derby prediction pretty much came true, via MLB:
Here’s how the event shook out:
The Derby didn’t take long to get going as Corey Seager and Mark Trumbo combined to hit 31 home runs in the opening matchup of the first round. Seager looked to have one foot in the semifinals with 15 homers until Trumbo clinched passage to the next round with 16. He closed his round with eight straight home runs. His last dinger went 479 feet and narrowly missed hitting the scoreboard in left field:
According to MLB, 10 of Trumbo’s homers traveled more than 440 feet. Fox Sports: MLB provided the perfect reaction for the Baltimore Orioles outfielder:
Sports Illustrated‘s Kenny Ducey noted not everybody enjoyed Trumbo’s show of power:
Stanton stepped to the plate next. Although the Marlins star is tied for 16th in MLB with 20 home runs, he entered the event as many fans’ favorite to win.
And he more than lived up to expectations, hitting 24 homers in the first round. MLB.com’s Daren Willman shared the distance and exit velocities for each of the 26-year-old’s two dozen home runs:
Watching the right-handed slugger simultaneously motivated and discouraged The Ringer’s Robert Mays:
MLB.com’s Michael Clair felt sorry for Robinson Cano, whose matchup in the first round was with Stanton:
In the other half of the bracket, Adam Duvall eliminated Wil Myers, and Frazier knocked Carlos Gonzalez.
The semifinals pitted Stanton against Trumbo, which was a good enough clash that it could’ve closed out the Derby, and nobody would’ve complained.
Occasionally, the break in between rounds can have an adverse effect on hitters. The new format has streamlined the process a bit more to cut into the down time, but there was still a question as to how much Stanton and Trumbo had left in the tank.
Stanton put those doubts to bed early on, picking right up from where he left off in the first round. He socked 17 home runs. San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence couldn’t help but be in awe of Stanton’s impressive physique:
Fernandez came in with the assist to help Stanton celebrate his round, via MLB GIFs:
Trumbo began the semifinals with a bang, sending a moonshot into left field that hit the scoreboard. That was the highlight of his round, though, as his power looked to be slowly receding. He headed into the 30-second bonus time needing five home runs to tie Stanton, and he ran out of time before he could chase down his opponent.
In the other semifinal, Frazier advanced with a 16-15 win over Duvall. Frazier once again benefited from going second. That allowed the Chicago White Sox star to know exactly what he needed to advance to the final.
Frazier also used his one allowed timeout strategically—down 15-12 with 90 seconds remaining. The short break allowed him to recover, and he did just enough to top Duvall.
Last year, 15 homers were enough to give Frazier the Derby title in the final against Joc Pederson. That total wasn’t going to cut it against Stanton, who hit 20 in this year’s final.
Despite having already hit more homers in the first two rounds than he ever has in a single season (37), Stanton looked no worse for wear. BuzzFeed’s Lindsey Adler thought the final was already over at that point:
Frazier got off to a slow start, with just three homers in the first minute. That ultimately doomed him, since he needed to hit for power at a superhuman pace in order to track down Stanton. And without the benefit of the bonus round, he couldn’t repeat as champion.
Neither Stanton nor Frazier will be playing in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, which could be a blessing in disguise. They could use an extra day of rest to recover from the Home Run Derby.
While the 2016 Derby couldn’t match last year’s edition in terms of drama, Stanton’s incredible showing more than made up for it. With any luck, he’ll be back to defend his crown in front of a home crowd in Miami in 2017.
Post-Derby Reaction
For Stanton, a native of Panorama City, California, near Los Angeles, winning this year’s derby was a little more special.
“For sure being on the West Coast and taking the flight out here just for this, you know. I figure it’s a waste if I don’t bring this bad boy home,” he said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). “I had a great time. I had a blast.”
Stanton also discussed strategy and how he tried to conserve energy for later on in the event: “When I get a few in a row I would kind of bump it up 5 to 10 percent. But most the time I stuck at 80-90 percent. I knew I could do it endurance-wise. I was just hoping my swing didn’t fall about.”
“It was impressive,” said Frazier of the final, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I said it would be an epic home run battle and it stepped up to the name. I thought I had a chance when I needed 20, but he deserved it. He put on a great show. I hope everybody enjoyed it.”
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