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If Soto can hit 10 more after the break, he will be just the 11th to reach 90 by that point. There is a recent history of rookies winning the Derby, as Aaron Judge did it for the Yankees in 2017 and Alonso did it in 2019. Rodriguez is hoping to become the third rookie in history to claim the title. Soto earned his second straight All-Star appearance as a reserve. The 23-year-old outfielder has been a bright spot for the last-place Nats, hitting 19 homers to go along with 41 RBIs so far.
While the ball ended up selling for a lucrative price, the ball's selling price fell short of the $3.05 million record set by Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball in 1998. The highest price paid at auction for a baseball is $3 million. It was for one hit by Mark McGwire on Sept. 27, 1998, to reach 70 for the season.
Joey Gallo
"I promised him back then -- half-serious, half-joking -- that he could throw to me if I was ever in the major league Home Run Derby," Mancini recalled in a Streamyard call the other day. The left-handed batter has pulled about two-thirds of his career homers. • No doubt it'll be fun for Olson to participate in the All-Star festivities at Coors Field, which ranks as MLB’s most offense-friendly stadium, and the sixth most in terms of home runs, per Statcast park factors. The Oakland Coliseum ranks near the bottom of the league in both categories. In his career, Olson has hit 67 homers on the road, compared with 59 at home. • Even with the pandemic-shortened 2020 and a couple of injuries, Soto is the 18th player in AL or NL history to hit at least 80 home runs by the end of his age-22 season.
His 28 career opposite-field homers -- more than one-third of his total -- are tied for fourth most of any player since 2018. • Ohtani isn’t just hitting homers -- he’s destroying baseballs. His 16 homers of 110-plus mph, including six of 115-plus, lead MLB, as do his 17 of 420 feet or longer. Already this year, he’s hit seven of the Angels’ 10 hardest homers of the Statcast era, including the top three. • Whatever you say about Ohtani’s 2021, it’s not sufficient.
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Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover was struck by the object filled with sand after it was flung by a spectator at AAMI Park, in Melbourne, on Saturday. Bidding on the ball opened on Nov. 29 and ended Saturday. The price is the second highest paid for a baseball auction, according to Goldin Executive Chairman and Founder Ken Goldin.
"I've heard that you have way more time than you think you do, and you should not rush," Olson said. "You keep the smooth swings going. Chappy said you don't have to try to lift the ball." Former Angels general manager Billy Eppler guessed that Ohtani might go with Mike Ashman, the Angels' regular batting practice pitcher who has drawn raves from Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and others.
Who won the Home Run Derby last year?
"Multiple players have hit more home runs in a season, but in many people's eyes, Aaron Judge is the true record-holder," read a statement by Goldin executive chairman and founder Ken Goldin to ESPN. "The fact that this is the second-highest total ever paid for a baseball speaks to the respect that fans and collectors have for Aaron. The ball from New York Yankees star Aaron Judge's American League record-setting 62nd home run of the 2022 season sold for $1.5 million with a buyer's premium on Saturday night. According to ESPN, the ball is the second most expensive baseball ever to be sold at auction. • Alonso set the rookie home run record with 53 in 2019 and leads the Majors with 86 total dingers since the beginning of that season. He also ranks first in that span in homers hit 110-plus mph , and he's tied for first in homers hit 440-plus feet .
• Gallo hits some of the most extreme dingers in the game. He owns two career homers that have traveled 490-plus feet, including a 495-footer on July 20, 2018, that is tied for fifth longest in the Statcast era. Since 2017, Gallo’s 51 homers of 110-plus mph rank second in MLB behind the Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton, while his 16 homers of 450-plus feet are tied with Stanton for the most. Gallo is also tied for first with eight moonshots struck with a launch angle of 40-plus degrees. Alonso is trying to become the first player to win the derby three straight times. He tops the majors with 78 RBIs and has hit 24 home runs this season for the NL East-leading New York Mets.
• While Guerrero may have made the biggest impression in the 2019 Derby, it was Alonso who walked away with the trophy (and the $1 million prize). He did it by launching 57 total homers , including 20 in a semifinal victory over Ronald Acuña Jr. and 23 in the final showdown with Guerrero. Alonso earned bonus time in all three rounds by hitting at least three homers 440-plus feet, but he never actually needed it -- walking off his opponent before the end of regulation. • Story has been one of MLB’s top power threats ever since he debuted with a two-homer Opening Day in 2016. He remains the only player in AL or NL history to homer in four straight games to begin his career, with six total dingers in that span. Ohtani has of course been a complete anomaly as far as baseball performances.
Pujols is making his final All-Star appearance an eventful one. Limited tickets are still available for the 2022 T-Mobile Home Run Derby. "Everybody can pull the ball. Let’s see how far you hit the ball oppo," Soto said. • With a win, Seager would become just the third shortstop to win the Home Run Derby. Before that, Cal Ripken Jr. was the first shortstop to win the contest in 1991.
Alonso smashed 35 in the first round, 16 in the semifinals, and 23 in the finals to take the crown. In the process, he became the all-time leader for career homers in the derby with 131. • Going oppo is not a typical Derby strategy, but Soto certainly has the power to drive the ball that way.
• Alonso now has a chance to join Ken Griffey Jr. (1994, ‘98-99), Yoenis Céspedes ( ) and Prince Fielder as the only multiple-time Derby champions. • Perez is already approaching his career high in homers (27 in 2017 and '18) and has joined Gary Sánchez and Javy López as the only catchers in the past 20 years to reach 20 homers by the All-Star break. • Mancini has gone for a high degree of difficulty, with nine of his 16 homers (56%) flying to the middle third of the field, one of the highest rates in MLB. From there, the two semifinal winners will battle for the Derby crown.
Lance Berkman is the only other one to even make the finals, in 2004. • A third title for Alonso would be notable for the Mets, too. It’d be the fourth HR Derby title in Mets history, along with Darryl Strawberry’s as a co-champ in 1986. That would tie the Yankees for the most titles of any franchise. MT, putting the backdrop for the evening's event as the setting sun in Denver. Angels two-way talent Shohei Ohtani leads the majors in home runs with 30 as of July 4 after he clobbered two against the Orioles on Friday as he has continued to put together his most extraordinary campaign to date.
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