I live-tweeted the Home Run Derby tonight. In case you missed it, here’s what happened:
We finally got underway after an hour-and-a-half rain delay.
Here come the orange balls for @JoeyBats19. He immediately hits his tenth home run and will step away with a comfortable lead #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Jose Bautista led the pack with 10 Home Runs.
Puig walks away with no homers #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Puig disappointed everyone.
STANTON ALMOST HIT IT OUT OF THE PARK! PROJECTED 510 FEET ARE YOU KIDDING ME! #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Stanton seemed unstoppable.
Morneau goes 0 for 3 and Todd Frazier will advance to the second round #HRDerby — THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Cespedes immediately ties it on his first swing and wins the swing-off on his second #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
We had swing-offs in both leagues: Todd Frazier edging Justin Moreau in the National League and Cespedes defeating teammate Josh Donaldson in the American League.
There’s Tulo’s second but it won’t be enough as he pops up the next pitch. Todd Frazier moves on to face Stanton #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Cespedes eighth was a liner into the second deck. He just barely gets his ninth into dead center. He’s setup a challenge for Adam Jones #HRD
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
The swing-off winners were the ones to move on to their League’s final. The NL provided a shocker:
Stanton hits ZERO home runs in the NL Final. Todd Frazier pulls off the miracle to move on to the #HRDerbyFinals — THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Frazier edged Stanton 1-0.
Cespedes’ third had a projected distance of 507 feet. He just hit his fourth. He’s making it look so easy #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Cespedes powered past Bautista 7-3. It was David vs. Goliath in the finals. Todd Frazier won the coin flip and chose to go second in effort to tire out Cespedes…
His sixth is slugged into the second deck, as his seventh. #7 was projected to go 509 feet #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Cespedes would finish with nine in the final round and it was too much for Frazier. Todd was able to only hit one home run and Yoenis Cespedes successfully defended his title.
Cespedes is the first player since Ken Griffey Jr. to win back-to-back HR Derby Championships #HRDerby
— THE THUNDERBLOG (@thunderblg) July 15, 2014
Overall, it was a fun derby to watch. I like the new bracket-style although I do think the length needs to be tweaked. Stanton and Bautista clearly were at a disadvantage having sat around for so long. There was certainly a reason why the two swing-off winners advanced to the finals. Maybe make the 2/3 head-to-head only five outs instead of seven.
The THUNDERBLOG 