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Before the swing-off, Stanton and Bautista provided most of the excitement. Between the NL and AL matchups, players and fans held up signs with the names of friends and family fighting cancer as part of a “Stand Up to Cancer” campaign. The second round featured head-to-head matchups in each league’s bracket with Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier and Oakland’s Yoenis Cespedes emerging as the winners. Puig failed to hit a home run in the first round of the derby. When Frazier kicked off the third round with only one homer, it looked like his derby was over.
He'll have a swing-off with Donaldson to determine who advances in the second round. The first batter of round two was also the first batter of round one. Stanton's third homer was the first of the night to reach the third deck. His fourth was a 430-foot shot to the second deck in dead center .
Scott Boras says he gave Giants 'time' to sign Correa
But pre-derby favorite Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins was shut out, and Frazier advanced. In the second round, Harper, with his father, Ron, serving as his personal pitcher, stepped to the forefront by repeating his eight-homer performance of the first round. Father and son found themselves in a nice -- and touching -- groove.
On December 11, 2014, the Red Sox traded Céspedes along with Alex Wilson and Gabe Speier to the Detroit Tigers for Rick Porcello. Céspedes played his first game with the Tigers during opening day against the Minnesota Twins on April 6, 2015, where he robbed Kurt Suzuki of a home run, leading to a 4–0 victory for the Tigers. Through June 13, Céspedes was hitting .308 with 9 home runs and 33 runs batted in. He was not selected as an All Star but was put in as a player on the All-Star Final Vote. Therefore, he could not compete in the home run derby after winning the two previous years. Also knocked out early were defending champion Prince Fielder, the only player besides Ken Griffey Jr. to win multiple times, and American League captain Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees, who made Cespedes his final pick.
National League Central
But the Washington Nationals phenom couldn't keep up with Cespedes. "This trophy will motivate me so that things continue to go well for me, and I just want to thank the people that believed in me, that thought I could play at this level," he said. New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso experienced a similar pattern when he first won the competition in 2019. His home run dropped to 23 in the second half of the season after clubbing 30 before the break.
In the three-swing tiebreaker, Frazier hit one homer and Morneau hit zero. Stanton gets a bye into the third round while Tulowitzki and Frazier meet head-to-head in the second round. "I'm somebody who's very conscious of the power that I have," Cespedes said. "So I don't need to put more of a swing or more of an effort in order to hit a home run. I just have to look for a good pitch and put a good swing on it, and it usually takes care of it."
Topps Update Series Home Run Derby Justin Bour #134 - Miami Marlins
Two of his homers came in the opening round as part of a swing-off with Oakland teammate Josh Donaldson. Cespedes and Donaldson each hit three homers in their first at-bats before Cespedes won the tiebreaker, 2-1. Several of Cespedes' shots went to the third deck of a ballpark with deep dimensions. And even though Harper, who at 20 years and 272 days old nearly became the Derby's youngest winner ever, gave Cespedes a high hurdle to cross in the final round, Cespedes crossed it with ease. With five outs remaining out of his available 10, he won it with an exclamation point -- a 455-foot poke to dead center -- becoming the first right-handed hitter to win the Derby since Vladimir Guerrero in 2007.
He had previously sat out the last few games due to a lingering leg injury. His 466 feet home run against the Chicago Cubs on June 30 tied for the longest in Citi Field history. On July 1, Céspedes suffered a hamstring injury while running against the Tigers on a RBI hit by Brandon Moss. Céspedes along with 5 other A's players were chosen to play in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game in Target Field.
"You never know how those are going to fly. It's tough to pick those up as well, so that's definitely cool." Cleared payment cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab. In June, MLB named Robinson Canó of the New York Yankees and David Wright of the New York Mets the Home Run Derby team captains. On July 8 and 9, the captains each picked three other players to compete with them.
Céspedes hit his first home run as a member of the Red Sox on August 10, 2014, against the Los Angeles Angels, with a 3-run home run. In 51 games with Boston, Céspedes batted .269 with 5 home runs and 33 RBIs. Overall, for the 2014 season, Céspedes had 22 home runs with 100 RBIs, while batting .260. After an hour-long rain delay and four hours worth of long balls, Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has won his second consecutive Home Run Derby crown. Cespedes' résumé already included some victories in various home run hitting competitions in his native Cuba, and now he's gone back to back here.
Céspedes, who hit 32 homers, total, in winning the 2013 Derby at Citi Field in New York, hit 30 homers Monday. He said that rain before and during the event affected all the participants, who got ready early only to have to wait through an hour delay. Since then, the ballpark has ranked closer to the middle of the pack in home runs, 18th out of 30. In fact, hometown favorite David Wright had joked he would take his Derby swings from second base.
On July 31, 2015, Céspedes was traded to the New York Mets for minor league pitchers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa. On August 21, Céspedes went 5 for 6 against the Colorado Rockies, hitting 3 home runs in a game for the first time. It was ranked the best offensive game of the season by ESPN.com.
Gonzalez remains in the National League starting lineup for Tuesday night's All-Star Game, though. The final addition to the field, Cespedes was the fourth player not selected for the All-Star Game to compete in the event. Stanton knocked a homer just over the left-field fence on his first swing and proceeded to put on a show, clobbering six home runs.
In the final week of fan voting to select starters for the All Star Game, he was passed by Adam Jones. On July 14, 2014, Céspedes won the Home Run Derby for a second time, becoming the first player to win consecutive Home Run Derby titles since Ken Griffey Jr. accomplished the feat in 1999. Céspedes played in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game where he went 0 for 2. Cespedes, the defending Home Run Derby champ and final batter of the first round, went deep three times.
Cespedes beat Bryce Harper 9-8 in the final round at reconfigured Citi Field, hitting the decisive drive with five swings to spare. The outfielder from Cuba flipped his bat aside and raised his left arm in triumph when he sent his 32nd homer of the night some 455 feet to center field, where it caromed off the back wall of the black batter's eye. Cespedes beat Bryce Harper 9-8 in the final round at Citi Field, hitting the decisive drive with five swings to spare. The outfielder from Cuba flipped his bat aside and raised his left arm in triumph when he sent his 32nd homer of the night some 455 feet to center field. He was swarmed by the American League All-Stars near the third-base line.
