The game play alone is breathtaking and is the most realistic baseball game you’ll ever come across (until next year’s installment I’m sure).
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Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton may not have made the All-Star team this year, but his presence in the Home Run Derby was still a must-have. His new hitting coach is home run king Barry Bonds. He blasted 61 homers total – shattering Bobby Abreu’s event record – en route to a Home Run Derby championship that quickly seemed inevitable.
“You see this bad boy right here?” He was traded to the White Sox in December. He managed 42 to extend his record to 92 homers. Since hitting the big leagues in 2010, no one in the National League has as many long balls as Giancarlo (201).
In his final-round winning total of 20 homers, 11 of them were 440 feet or better.
“I’m happy because the world now knows”, Samson said. “I knew if I could do it if I was in there and luckily my bat power stayed good”.
Participating in his first Derby, Duvall put on an impressive performance, topping hometown favorite Wil Myers in the first round 11-10, even earning boos from the San Diego fans for eliminating their representative in the game.
Trumbo defeated Los Angeles Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager, 16-15, in their first-round match. I like this format.
Four minutes per batter for each round.
Seager started slowly by Derby standards.
Frazier defeated Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies, 13-12, with 39 seconds remaining.
The Marlins slugger, who was not selected to the All-Star Game, beat out White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier in the final round.
By sunset in San Diego, Stanton reaffirmed his place among the planet’s most talented baseball players.
Stanton’s longest home run was 497 feet, a distance he clocked a couple of times during the competition.
“[Shine was] a no-brainer”. He homered on five straight balls once in all three rounds. “He’s just as important to this as I was”. “I would like to return that”. “I’m just happy that he’s here”. He hit more home runs in just over two hours of competition than most players hit in multiple seasons combined.
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Stanton also had the eight longest home runs of the evening and 20 of the longest 21. “We were definitely hoping he would be the defending champion at home next year”.
