2023 Home Run Derby: Julio Rodríguez puts up monster 41 to break single round record
Seattle Mariners superstar Julio Rodríguez set Home Run Derby record with 41 homers in his first round matchup Monday with New York Mets star Pete Alonso.
He capped off the round with a monstrous bat flip to the hometown fans in Seattle.
The previous record for homers in the first round was 32 set by Rodriguez last season. Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit 40 in a second-round swing off in 2019.
Rodriguez was the No. 7 seed in the tournament while Alonso, a two-time MLB Home Run Derby champion, was the No. 2 seed. Alonso finished with just 21 homers to be eliminated.
The two had faced off in the semifinals last year with Rodriguez beating Alonso, 31-23. Rodriguez lost in the final to Juan Soto.
Rodríguez advanced to face Guerrero in the second round.
Franmy Peña, a friend of Rodríguez, is pitching to him for the second-straight season.
“We worked last year,” Rodríguez said via the Seattle Times. “It was fun last year, and at the same time he’s my boy. So, I decided to give him the opportunity again and go for it.”
Rodríguez’s performance at the Home Run Derby was the second memorable moment of the day after Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman switched from hitting lefty to going righty in the middle of his first round.
Rutschman finished his round with 27 homers but lost to No. 1 seed Luis Robert by just one home run in the first round’s closest matchup.
“We’ve taken BP a couple of times just to try to get back in the swing of things, but I think we’re just taking the mindset of trying to have fun with it. It’s an experience for both of us and one of those lifelong dreams that we’re excited to do,” Rutschman said on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio, via Sports Illustrated.
Julio Rodríguez lost to eventual derby champ Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby on Monday. He defeated Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in the finals and Julio Rodríguez in the semifinals.
Guerrero hit 25 while Arozarena could only muster 24.
It was the second appearance in the Home Run Derby for the 24-year-old slugging first baseman. He also was in the 2019 Home Run Derby and came in second to New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.
“Back in 2019, I hit 91 homers and I lost,” Guerrero Jr. said through an interpreter, according to the Seattle Times. “I think it was like 60 something tonight, and I came out on top.”