Pete Alonso dominates Home Run Derby for second straight win: ‘I think I’m the best power hitter on the planet’

Nearly every pitch Mets bench coach Dave Jauss threw was in Pete Alonso’s wheelhouse, and the duo made light work of the Home Run Derby for Alonso’s second straight win.

Nobody was having more fun than Alonso, who knocked off Salvador Perez, Juan Soto and Trey Mancini to defend his title from 2019.

His 35 home runs were the highest total of the first round, helping him beat Royals’ catcher Perez, whose second-best 26 dingers fell victim to the luck of the draw. Alonso was dancing and singing along to the stadium’s booming tunes during his rounds and letting out some primal polar bear roars after the more diabolical destructions.

The players were not constricted by Coors Field’s humidor, an apparatus that was not used Monday night but typically houses the baseballs before each game in Colorado to suppress the high-altitude effects and try to keep them in the yard. Alonso ended up hitting 15,659 feet of home run in the first round alone. Nine of the 35 went 475 feet or longer. The secret weapon was Jauss and his pinpoint, deadeye accuracy. Alonso wanted the balls to be middle-up. Jauss told him to say less.

“Jaussy was putting them right in the bread basket,” Alonso marveled. “I feel like I used pretty much the entire field. I was locked in on hitting the sweet spot on the bat. My tempo was great and my effort level was outstanding.”

In the second round, Alonso outdid Soto with relative ease, beating his division rival’s total with time to spare. At one point, he called his one allotted timeout simply to goad the crowd into cheering even louder for him. Alonso stepped out of the box, turned to the swath of fans packed behind home plate, and raised his arms to the sky while cupping a hand behind his ear.

With the pandemic cancelling last year’s Derby, Alonso had plenty of time to prepare for this one.

He had a very calculated approach to the exhibition that many players treat like a fun novelty act. This is serious business for Alonso, and he had a plan. From selecting Jauss’ cool hand over his cousin Derek that threw to him for the 2019 win, to the meditative rest he took between rounds, Alonso clearly set out to become the fourth multi-time winner of the derby and accept no alternatives.

“I think I’m the best power hitter on the planet,” Alonso said. “I feel like I had a target on my back and had a little adversity, but this is truly special.”

In the final round, Alonso came head-to-head with the Orioles’ Trey Mancini. After missing last season with colon cancer, Mancini said he wanted to compete this year to show the world that there’s life after cancer and chemotherapy. His 22 home runs in the final round were an amazing display of resiliency that undoubtedly lifted thousands of viewers’ spirits.

He just ran into the new undisputed king of the Home Run Derby.

With his blue and orange bat and balls belted over the left field seats onto the concourse, Alonso looked pleasantly at home. He’ll have another Home Run Derby trophy (and an iced out chain) with him when he flies out of Denver, as well as another million dollars in prize winnings.

“It’s really awesome that they give the trophy and the necklace,” Alonso said from his postgame throne. “It’s really kind of sick. They really did an excellent job with (the chain). It’s gorgeous, I’m really excited, and oh yeah, it’s heavy.”

The night was an overall smashing success for Major League Baseball. The beauty of the Home Run Derby, particularly when a star of Shohei Ohtani’s caliber is involved, is the ability to draw in casual fans.

During Monday night’s affair, Twitter was flooded with posts from people saying they don’t normally watch or care about baseball, but had tuned in to watch Ohtani. While his first-round matchup with Soto produced some of the best drama of the evening, those casual fans were treated to an experience that hardcore fans have known about for years.

As has been the case time and time again, Ohtani wowed everyone with his ridiculous talent, but ultimately did not win.

Ohtani lost to the eighth-seeded Soto in a three-swing runoff, ending his night in disappointment like so many of his games with the Angels do. Both he and Soto clobbered 22 homers in the first round. That spawned a one-minute swingoff, during which they tied again. In the final decider, which gave each hitter three swings, all three of Soto’s produced a home run. Ohtani rolled over on his very first, ending the night for baseball’s first-half home run king.

That doesn’t mean Ohtani’s performance lacked star power, though. He hit six home runs longer than 500 feet, the most ever in a single Home Run Derby. His longest flew a majestic 518 feet. That ended up being no match for Soto, who both beat him in home runs and distance. Soto’s killer kaboom sent a ball 520 feet away. That was good for the farthest home run ever tracked by Statcast. Not just in the Derby, but ever.

From the theatrics between Ohtani and Soto, to the hometown heroics from Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story and his 518-foot launch, to the feel-good story of Trey Mancini, everything went swimmingly for the league that can never seem to get out of its own way. With every player wearing No. 44 to honor the late Hank Aaron, it was a night of baseball that would have made the Hammer proud.