Teoscar Hernández won the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby with 14 home runs in the finals round, becoming the first Los Angeles Dodgers player to win the event.
He faced off against Bobby Witt Jr., who finished with 13.
Both players hit 13 in their three minutes, but Hernández hit one in his bonus round while Witt failed to do so.
Home Run Derby Semi-Finals results
Teoscar Hernández hit 16 home runs in the semi-finals of the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby, advancing him to the final stage, where he will face Bobby Witt Jr.
Hernández hit 13 over his first three minutes before slugging one more in the bonus round.
The All-Star outfielder faced off against Alec Bohm in the semi-finals, and both finished with 14 home runs after their respective turns.
That put the two in a swing off where each was given three swings. Hernández missed on his first swing, but went on to hit two more over his next two swings.
Bohm came up short with just one homer on his three swings, finishing the round with 15 and being eliminated by Hernández.
Home Run Derby 1st Round recap
Teoscar Hernández hit 19 home runs in opening round of the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby and advanced to the second round of the event.
Through his first minute and a half, Hernández blasted six homers on 17 pitches, but four of them came on his first six pitches. He then started to get into a groove and concluded his final 18 pitches with seven more home runs to put him at 13 total.
In the bonus round, Hernández really took off, hitting seven home runs with the four outs he had to work with.
Under the new rules, players have 40 pitchers or three minutes to hit as many homers as possible. Hernández left five pitches on the board when the time ran out.
For the bonus round, players get three more outs to hit as many homers as possible, and they can unlock a bonus out with a homer of 425 feet or further.
The first round concludes after all eight players hit. From there, the top four players will advance to the semi-final round.
Hernández finished fourth among the eight hitters, earning the final seed in the second round. Alec Bohm hit 21 before Bobby Witt Jr. followed with 20.
Pete Alonso only hit 12 and was the first player eliminated. García became the second player eliminated after he was surpassed by José Ramírez, who finished with 21.
Marcell Ozuna was eliminated after hitting just 16. Gunnar Henderson finished off the event with 11 to finish last overall.
Hernández became the 11th player to represent the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Home Run Derby. Throughout its history, the Dodgers have not fared particularly well, and they have never had a winner of the event.
Joc Pederson has been their most successful player.
In 2015, he was not only the first Dodgers player to make it out of the first round, but he also nearly won the whole thing. Pederson ended up losing to Todd Frazier in the final round by one homer.
He was even better in 2019, but lost to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the semifinals despite hitting 39 home runs in the round. No Dodgers player has reached the finals aside from Pederson in 2015.
Teoscar Hernández picked Dino Ebel to pitch in the Home Run Derby
Hernández had Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel pitch to him for the event, and explained his reasoning behind that decision.
Ebel has thrown in a Home Run Derby on four occasions, including most recently in 2019 to Pederson. He most notably pitched to Vladimir Guerrero Sr. in 2007 during his stint with the Los Angeles Angels.
Prior to the Dodgers facing the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon, Hernández resumed Home Run Derby preparations with Ebel. It represented the second day Hernández and Ebel went through the practice of taking swings.
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