The 2016 Home Run Derby at Petco Park featured several intriguing participants and matchups, and the tournament largely lived up to its billing. As the No. 8 seed, Los Angeles Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager was first to hit.
Seager drew Baltimore Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo, who leads the Majors this season with 28 home runs. Given the rivalry between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres, it was unsurprising that Seager received some boos during introductions.
It also didn’t come as a surprise that the 22-year-old shortstop got off to a slow start. He quickly settled in and found a nice rhythm to club 12 home runs in the allotted four minutes. Seager earned 30 additional seconds, and tacked on three more homers.
His 12th overall and personal longest home run of the first round was a towering 454-foot shot to right field:
Seager appeared destined for the second round in what would have been a matchup with No. 5 seed Giancarlo Stanton. However, Trumbo overcame a slow start to propel himself past the rookie.
Trumbo used a timeout after hitting eight home runs, then blasted eight consecutive homers to give him the requisite 16 to advance to the next round. While Seager was eliminated early on, he now gets to participate in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
