Pressure? Sure didn’t show it. “But it was also the story of the bond between one of baseball’s most effervescent players and the fans who showered him with unabashed affection, from his first swing to his last”. Frazier is just the second player in the event’s history (after Ryne Sandberg in 1990) to win the Derby in his home park. I felt like a little kid out there out there sometimes in the back yard swinging at everything. Maybe with minor rule changes, but nothing major so they can keep the same concept that the fans and even players seemed to like and enjoy!
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Pederson was trying to become the first rookie since Wally Joyner in 1986 to win or share the title.
The third basemen of the Reds Frazier was believed to of had the upper-hand, playing on his home field before the competition started. He led all hitters in the opening round with 14 homers, with the final one coming on his first pitch in bonus time. With his brother Charlie pitching to him at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Frazier outlasted Pederson, 15-14, in an epic final round.
The Reds’ third baseman was behind by two homers with 40 seconds left.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of an Oakland A’s fan and other season ticket-holders throughout the major leagues does not ask for money. The best of the best from the National and American Leagues put on their game faces for the big day, but Todd took home the coveted victory after an intense three rounds, beating out Joc Pederson in the finals! The three-time All-Star can terminate his contract at the end of the season.
And unlike the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest, baseball’s brightest stars came out to participate in the Home Run Derby. When you’ve got the opportunity, you have to hit it out no matter where the ball’s pitched.
Fielder can hit home runs, still. Machado was the most ridiculed selection for the Derby field, as he fell victim to Pederson with over a minute left in the first round match-up.
“I think it was a good night and a good format, and I look forward to hopefully doing it again”, Bryant told SN’s Jesse Spector.
And Fielder wowed ’em, hitting 13 homers – eight of them farther than 425 feet, with one estimated at 474 feet. Runs per team per game have dropped slightly, from 4.14 at the break previous year to 4.10. The event moved quicker this year than the last several years.
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“We haven’t thought a lot about it”, he said.
