Ohtani steals show at Home Run Derby to kick off historic all-star week

Hazel Mae and Shi Davidi look at Shohei Ohtani’s dramatic first-round loss in the Home Derby, and why it looks so easy for repeating champ Pete Alonso at the plate in the event.

DENVER – Consider for a moment that in a span of roughly 24 hours, Shohei Ohtani will have competed in the home run derby, batted leadoff for the American League as the designated hitter and then taken the mound for them as the starting pitcher.

Unprecedented stuff befitting an unprecedented talent, one that, comparisons to Babe Ruth aside, is testing the physical boundaries modelled out for baseball players.

Nevermind then that he lost in the first-round of the derby to Juan Soto after tying at 22 in their opening allotment of time, matching up again at 28 following a minute of extra time and then missing on his first hack once the Washington Nationals slugger went 3-for-3 in his end of a swing-off.

The two-way Los Angeles Angels star was still mesmerizing, hooking balls down the line early in his round as if Munenori Kawasaki had subbed in wearing an Ohtani bodysuit, then rallying as only he can, flicking his wrists and sending balls into the third deck of Coors Field.

Once it was over, the electric anticipation that preceded his round seemed sucked from the thin Colorado air, the energy down noticeably as the semifinals and final played out and Pete Alonso became the fourth repeat derby winner, edging Trey Mancini 23-22.

Spectacular theatre all around, even if the prime attraction didn’t win the show.

“I'm a power hitter and I think I'm the best power hitter on the planet,” said Alonso. “And being able to showcase that and really put on a fun display for fans, I just think that it's truly a dream come true for me. Because when I was younger … this was one of the few nights of the year where I actually got to stay up past my bedtime and watch absolutely incredible feats that you just don't see in a regular baseball game.

"And to be able to participate, it's a dream come true, and to be able to do it back-to-back, this is really special for me and really, really cool.”

So too was watching Mancini go toe-to-toe with him, the latest achievement in his remarkable comeback from Stage 3 colon cancer that was diagnosed in March 2020 and required surgery to remove a malignant tumour.

He further diminished the buzz by eliminating local hero Trevor Story 13-12 in one semifinal, while Alonso comfortably knocked out Soto 16-15 with time to spare, pausing when two homers short to try and pump up the fans. They responded with some cheers and he promptly finished the task on a muggy, 30 C night.

In the final, Mancini started and hit 22 out of the gate but Alonso is made for this event, bobbing his head to the stadium music as he stepped into the batter’s box and methodically launching homer after homer to track down the Baltimore Orioles first baseman.

He hit 17 in his regular time and then added the final six on consecutive swings in his one-minute bonus, winning with 35 seconds to spare. Mancini could only marvel at Alonso, whom he described as a beast, and relish in his own moment.

“Obviously everybody knows the story by now, but the last year and a half was something you have nightmares about,” said Mancini. “And to be here a year later and make it to the finals was incredible.

“I was trying to win. If I'm in the competition, I'm in it to win it. So yeah, I'm disappointed. I would have rather won, but at the same time, how can you be upset? It was just the most incredible experience, nothing that I expected to happen at all.”

In the first round, Mancini narrowly edged Matt Olson 24-23, the Oakland Athletics masher’s last swing just hooking foul at the last moment, while Story edged out Joey Gallo 20-19.

Alonso, the defending champion from 2019 when he beat then Toronto Blue Jays rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the final, put on another show in the first round with 35 homers, and then sat back as Salavador Perez gave him a good go with 28.

Should he choose to do it – he was noncommittal – Alonso could join Ken Griffey Jr. as the only three-time winner next year in Los Angeles. His first ever home run derby came when he played in the Northwoods Summer League during his college days, a three-man event that included the University of North Carolina’s Joe Dudek and, for some reason, Jose Canseco.

“So I went against Jose Canseco,” recalled Alonso. “He hit five homers and I hit six homers – it was the old outs-style Derby and even though I hit more home runs than him, Jose still went to the next round because that's Jose. And then my buddy, Joe, he hit 10, so he faced Jose in the final round. That was the first one. I was like, well, that was fun. It doesn't compare anything to this. This is so special.”

Still, the crowd of 49,098 was clearly behind Ohtani, who is accomplishing a series of firsts this week. He’s the first player selected to the all-star game as both a player (elected by fans) and a pitcher (voted in by his peers), the first Japanese participant in the derby and the first player to participate in the derby and then not only pitch the next day, but also start.

Ohtani said he wasn’t expecting to be selected to the game as a pitcher, let alone named the starter, while the Midsummer Classic’s rules were amended so that he could be treated as separate players in each of his two roles.

“This is what the fans want to see. It's personally what I want to see. And to have the opportunity to do something with a generational talent, pretty special,” said Kevin Cash, the American League manager. “I begged Major League Baseball to tweak the rule for the all-star game, because if they didn't, I know I'd screw it up the rest of the way, pulling pinch-hitters and DHs.”

Why do it all?

“I'm expecting to be pretty fatigued and exhausted after these two days, but there's a lot of people that want to watch it and I want to make those guys happy,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “That's why I'm going to do it.”

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