"You must have underestimated me" Hernandez LAD Home Run Derby is thrilled to win his first championship, and it's fun without Ohtani-Jersey!
Jul 16, 2024
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Hernandez won the All-Star Game home run derby final at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on the 16th (Korea time) by beating Kansas City Royals Bobby Witt Jr. by 14-13. Hernandez won $1 million in prize money.
Hernandez is the first Dodgers player to win the All-Star Game since Home Run Derby began in 1985. The Dominican Republic is the seventh winner of all time after Juan Soto in 2022. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Hernandez's teammate during the Toronto Blue Jays, won the home run derby last year, but he has Canadian citizenship.
A total of eight people participated in the home run derby.
Hernandez hit 19 home runs in the first round, advancing to the second round with wit junior (20), Alec Bohm (21) and Jose Ramirez (21).
In the second round, the semi-final, Hernandez met the spring and narrowly advanced to the final, winning 16-15 by one. Wit Jr. defeated Ramirez 17-12 in the quarterfinals to reach the final as well.
The final was so close that it was called the best game ever.
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Bohm also hit 11 home runs in two minutes in the first round, then added two in the bonus round and left two out-counts. If you hit one, it was a tie, and if you hit two, it was a reversal. But spring didn't take advantage of both opportunities.
In particular, Wit Jr.'s last ball was a big hit that could be a home run, but it was only a few feet short. The ball, which flew at an angle of 36 degrees and a speed of 103 miles, hit the bottom near the left side of the fence with the mark of 410 feet. There was a few feet short. Wit Jr. "I thought the opportunity would come again the moment I got hit. But the ball came up a little high."
At the end of Wit Jr.'s turn, Hernandez finally raised his arms and enjoyed the joy of winning.
Hernandez said "It didn't matter who my opponent was. I tried to focus only on myself. People may have underestimated me. Didn't I see I won after Witt hit it. People were cheering for Wit. But like other players, I have qualities. They are younger than me, but they are the same in ability."
Hernandez was only sixth out of eight in the odds of winning the championship given by the betting company before the home run derby. It seems that he was talking about his feelings about this.
Aaron Judge (34) of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani (29), the first and second home runs in the first half, did not participate in the home run derby, while Baltimore Orioles Gunner Henderson (28), the third-ranked home run, and Marce Ojuna (26), the fourth-ranked Atlanta Braves, were eliminated in the first round. In other words, Home Run Top 4 did not actually participate in the Home Run Derby or use its strength.
Hernandez signed a one-year, $23.5 million FA contract last winter and moved to the Dodgers. In the first half of the year, he played in 95 games and played his part by posting a batting average of 0.261 (95 hits in 364) with 19 home runs, 62 RBIs, 48 RBIs and an OPS of 0.802.
jhno@sportschosun.com
