Bobby Witt Jr. clenched his jaw and Teoscar Hernández held his breath as the 2024 Home Run Derby sent a ball hurtling into the darkness at Globe Life Field. An ordinarily uneventful Derby was suddenly heading for a spectacular finish — one that would come down to a handful of feet.
Witt let out a disappointed sigh as the ball he had hit careened off the base of the center-field fence; Hernández, meanwhile, triumphantly raised his arms in celebration. In the Derby finals, Hernández beat Witt by the smallest of margins: 14 home runs to 13, just as he had survived a swing-off to win by one homer in the semifinals.
The 31-year-old Hernández, a popular teammate and steady power provider over the last decade, became the first Los Angeles Dodgers player to win the Derby. He received a $1 million reward, a “DERBY CHAMP” medallion, plus the satisfaction of competing against possibly baseball’s finest rising talent and outperforming him swing for swing.
Who I’m competing against makes no difference. “I’m going to bet on myself,” said Hernández, who began the Derby with the sixth-longest odds in the eight-man field. “People may underestimate me. You can see that in the end, when Witt hit all those home runs. Everyone was aiming for him. But I am as skilled as those men over there. “They might be younger, but they have the same talent.”
During the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. six years ago, Kansas City Royals shortstop and former Globe Life Field resident Witt won the High School Home Run Derby. On Monday, he seemed poised to win the Derby a second time.
In the new structure of the tournament, competitors may view up to 40 pitches in three minutes and then hit as many home runs as they can before missing three in a bonus round. In the final, the duration was decreased to two minutes, with 27 pitches.
Hernández won his first Derby, becoming the fifth Dominican player to do so. He had gone hot in the midst of his last round, gaining a significant edge over Witt, who struggled to get started.
Witt finished with 11 home runs and an additional out in bonus time for hitting a ball over 425 feet. “I was nervous,” Hernández said.
The anxieties were understandable, especially with the last swing. Witt smashed a ball into center field as his brother-in-law, former Chicago Cubs reliever James Russell, threw to him.
Though it’s often a dead zone for home run competitions, Witt hit it well enough to persuade many of the 38,578 spectators that he had matched Hernández. “I thought I had a chance when I hit it,” Witt told me, “but I saw it was just a little bit too high.”
Hernández celebrated alongside his former teammate and 2023 Derby winner, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., wearing Hernández’s Toronto Blue Jays uniform. Hernández grew into the kind of power threat the Dodgers sought this winter, signing a one-year free agency deal to join Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman in Los Angeles’ formidable lineup.
On Tuesday, Hernández will start in center field for the National League. He was invited to the tournament despite the fact that the field does not have the same level of star power as the one that won it ten years ago with Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, and Juan Soto. Hernández nearly made it to the semifinals, behind Philadelphia third baseman Alec Bohm, Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez, and Witt in the opening round.
Pete Alonso, a two-time Derby winner, ended with just 12 home runs, as did Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna, Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson, and local favorite Adolis Garcia of the Texas Rangers, who finished one behind Hernandez’s 19.
In the semifinals, Hernández and Bohm tied with 14 home runs in 40 pitches plus additional time. In the three-swing winner-take-all overtime, Hernández benefitted from Dodgers coach Dino Ebel’s precision pitching, who has won several Home Run Derby matches in the past.
Hernández hit a home run on each of his subsequent pitches. Bohm blasted one to left field on the second pitch, but his third swing fell softly on the outfield grass.
“I do this every day,” Ebel said. “It’s my job. I usually joke with the players that my job is to get lit up during batting practice. I simply had to know where they like it.”
Witt awaited him, having long admired Hernández’s ability as a well-rounded batter with game-changing power.
“I knew every time he is playing he’s got crazy juice to all parts of the field,” Witt told me. “So, it was cool to see him do that.”
Many others agreed. On a night without any huge home runs (Ozuna hit the farthest at 473 feet) or rounds with high totals, the finish had everyone on edge.
And it set up Guerrero’s probable comeback next year if his pal — the new champion — is looking for a repeat. “If Teoscar does it,” Guerrero said to Gonzalez, “I’m in.”
Has a Dodgers ever won the home run derby?
Hernández was not expected to win the 2024 T-Mobile Home Run Derby. But he proved everyone incorrect and even created some history. Hernández became the first Dodger to win the Derby, which took place on Monday night at Globe Life Field.
