Media by Associated Press – National League’s Juan Soto, of the Washington Nationals, holds the winner’s trophy after winning the MLB All-Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 18, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Washington Nationals star Juan Soto didn’t duplicate his feat from last year’s Home Run Derby at the event this year Monday night in Dodgers Stadium. Soto couldn’t hit a home run over 500 feet this year like he did last year in the thin air at Coors Field. Instead, Soto hit the longest home run and became the second-younger player to win the Home Run Derby.
Soto is 23 years and 266 days old, which makes him one day older than Juan Gonzalez when he won the event in 1993. He also hit the longest home run of the event at 482 feet. Soto beat Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez 19-18 in the finals. By winning the event, Soto became the sixth Dominican-born player to win the derby. Robinson Cano was the last Dominican player to win in 2011.
Little Mac
While Mason McGwire may never be the most popular Little Mac — the main character from Mike Tyson’s Punchout on NES will forever have that title — but he will get a shot at trying to climb the ladder to the big leagues like his dad did. Mason was chosen with the 233rd pick by the Chicago Cubs Monday.
Mason is a 6-foot-4 pitcher who has a 92 MPH fastball that is supported by a strong splitter. The Cubs will have to convince Mason to join their minor league system as he has an offer to play at Oklahoma in college. Mason’s dad, Mark, hit 583 home runs during his career and was a member of the 1989 Oakland A’s, who swept the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.
The Road Less Traveled
Kumar Rocker got good news this week that after a year of independent ball, he was once again a first-round pick in the MLB Draft. Rocker, a former Vanderbilt standout, had a strong college career from 2019 to 2021 with the Commodores before a failed physical raised flags after he was drafted by the New York Mets with the No. 3 pick last season.
Rocker agreed to a $5.2 signing bonus and will join the Rangers’ minor league pipeline, which includes his former college teammate Jack Leiter, who was drafted by Texas last season. Instead of heading back to Vanderbilt, Rocker decided to pitch with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Frontier League, which is an independent minor league.
Better than a Tie?
MLB introduced a new wrinkle to the All-Star game this year. If a game is tied after nine innings, the two leagues would have a home run derby to decide the game. The way it would work is the manager would pick three players to participate. Each player will get three swings to hit as many home runs as possible. If players don’t swing, it doesn’t count against their total.
Old Man Causes Uproar
St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols, 42, upset top seed Kyle Schwarber in the first round of the home run derby, 20-19. While Pujols would ultimately bow out to Soto, it was a nice moment for the future Hall-of-Famer. Pujols is playing in his last season after spending the last ten years with the Dodgers and Angels.
Pujols has 685 home runs in his career but would need to rediscover his power in order to threaten to reach the 700-mark for his career. Pujols is hitting .215 in 53 games for the Cardinals this season, with six home runs and 20 RBI.
Albert ranks fifth on the all-time home run list. He trails Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), and Alex Rodriguez (696).
Keep up with your latest MLB news coverage and betting pick previews at NJ Sportsbook.