Notice: Trying to get property 'post_title' of non-object in /home/ofzfvenynm4q/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wp-rss-feed-to-post/includes/wprss-ftp-display.php on line 109
Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. is the No. 1 seed in Monday night’s Home Run Derby at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Here’s what to know about the event — including how Cubs and White Sox players have fared in the past.
ESPN didn’t start airing the event live until 1994, but the derby actually dates to December 1959, when the major leagues’ best sluggers went to Wrigley Field — in Los Angeles, then home of the Pacific Coast League’s Angels — over a three-week period to take their hacks in “Home Run Derby,” a short-lived television show with Chicago native Mark Scott as host.
The 30-minute show aired weekly for 26 episodes during the major-league season. Nine of the 19 players who participated in April 1960 — including Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Ernie Banks — went on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Of the 20 players who hit 25 home runs or more in 1959, Scott recruited all but four to compete on “Home Run Derby.”
And of the 16 major-league teams at the time, all but one was represented. The lone snub? The American League champion White Sox.
Banks, the lone Cubs participant, earned $4,500 with one $500 bonus in his three spots, finishing 1-2. Only one player — Red Sox outfielder Jackie Jensen, in the final episode — received a $1,000 bonus for hitting five consecutive home runs.
It’s a single-elimination tournament in which each batter gets three minutes in the first two rounds and two minutes in the finals.
Every batter will be awarded 30 seconds of bonus time after the regulation period, and a batter gets an additional 30 seconds (for a total of 60 seconds) if he hits at least two homers that equal or exceed 440 feet during regulation.
Ties in any round will be broken with a 60-second swing-off. If it’s still tied after the swing-off, three-swing swing-offs will take place until there is a winner.
The seeding for the eight-man derby was determined by home run totals through Tuesday. Tiebreakers went to the player with the most homers since June 15.
White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. — who now has 26 home runs — is the top seed. His longest of the season was a 450-foot shot on July 4 versus the Blue Jays at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Robert, who is also an AL All-Star, laughed when asked about any previous derby experience.
“Yes, in Cuba,” he said. “I was talking about that with Adolis (García) a few minutes ago. We said at least we have to break the record that we set in Cuba because we didn’t hit any homers in that competition.”
This will be the first Home Run Derby for Robert and countrymen Randy Arozarena and García. They will try to join two-time champion Yoenis Céspedes as the only Cuban natives to win it.
Here’s the full bracket:
- (1) White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. vs. (8) Orioles’ Adley Rutschman
- (2) Mets’ Pete Alonso vs. (7) Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez
- (3) Dodgers’ Mookie Betts vs. (6) Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
- (4) Rangers’ Adolis García vs. (5) Rays’ Randy Arozarena
Robert will attempt to join Frank Thomas as Sox players to win the event (the former DH/1B won it in 1995 in Arlington, Texas).
Thomas launched 15 baseballs a combined 6,488 feet to beat out seven other All-Stars. He knocked off Cleveland’s Albert Belle for the title with three home runs in the final round versus two for Belle — who didn’t even take his last two cuts. Overall, Thomas hit seven of the eight longest homers and averaged nearly 433 feet per shot.
“When you’re sitting there and you’ve got 40,000 people cheering, they want to see a home run every time,” Thomas said. “They hate popups. They hate ground balls. If you don’t hit them into the seats, they won’t cheer. I’m proud to win it. It was tough competition and we had a lot of fun.”
The Cubs’ Sammy Sosa also participated in 1995 but finished with only two home runs and was eliminated in the first round.
Robert is the sixth Sox player (seventh time) to participate in the Home Run Derby and the first since Todd Frazier in 2016. Frazier lost to the Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, who hit 20 homers to Frazier’s 13 in the final round.
Other Sox players to take their swings in the event are Jermaine Dye (2006), Paul Konerko (2002), Thomas (1994, 1995) and Carlton Fisk (1985).
Cubs players have won the derby three times: Andre Dawson in 1987, Ryne Sandberg in 1990 and Sosa in 2000.
In 2015, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant represented the Cubs, and both failed to get out of the first round. That year’s winner? Frazier, then with the Reds.
The 2018 derby was another two-Cub night with Javier Báez and Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber hit 55 total home runs but lost by one in the final round to the Nationals’ Bryce Harper.
Perhaps the most hyped derby was staged in 1999 at Fenway Park, one season after the home-run race between Mark McGwire and Sosa. With all eyes on Sosa, the Cubs star wound up hitting only one home run in 11 swings.
“I’m just happy to be here,” Sosa said. “I’m not disappointed. … I got one. I’m not too good at hitting in BP.”
Bragging rights, of course. And — oh, yeah — $1 million.
The swinging begins at 7 p.m. Monday on ESPN. ESPN2 will air a Statcast-driven telecast as in the past; White Sox play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti hosted last year’s.
The event also will be on ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN app.
Juan Soto won last year’s event at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, edging Rodríguez 19-18 in the final round.
Sources: MLB.com, Associated Press
