The 2022 Home Run Derby is here, as are Matt Martell, Emma Baccellieri, Will Laws and Nick Selbe to watch along with you.
Will Laws (8:05 p.m. ET): How’s everyone doing? We’re almost ready to get started here at Dodger Stadium. They’re introducing the players now and the crowd reactions make it sound like former Dodgers Corey Seager and Albert Pujols will, of course, be the favorites here—with Seager getting a slightly louder ovation to my ears.
What are everyone’s predictions? I’m going with Corey Seager over Juan Soto; I love my lefties in the Derby.
Nick Selbe (8:06 p.m.): I’m going with Soto over Pete Alonso in the finals.
Emma Baccellieri (8:06 p.m): I’ll go with Kyle Schwarber over Alonso.
Matt Martell (8:07 p.m.): I’m going Soto vs. Seager in the finals, but this is Soto’s week. He’s going to take it in a swing off!
NS (8:07 p.m.): Anyone picking Albert to beat Schwarber?
MM (8:08 p.m.): I am. That’s my bold prediction; Albert goes off for 20 dingers in the first round.
WL (8:18 p.m): I think Old Man Albert is going down. But first, we have rookie Julio Rodríguez leading us off against Seager. Anyone taking Rodríguez?
NS (8:19 p.m.): First swing = whiff, not a great start for the rookie.
MM (8:20 p.m.): If J-Rod beats Seager, he’s going to win it all
NS (8:21 p.m.): In another life, I’d like to come back as a HR derby umpire. Seems like there are worse gigs to have.
WL (8:21 p.m.): My dream was to be one of the kids in the outfield. That would’ve been the ultimate bragging right to come into school with the next day. Now, maybe a little weird…
MM (8:22 p.m.): Welcome to the J-Rod Show friends. This is epic! 14 home runs at his time out. The same number as the Mariners have consecutive wins. But he might be hitting them a little too high to rack up enough during the derby.
WL (8:24 p.m.): He ends up with 25 after his initial three minutes. That was pretty impressive after the initial whiff. Not feeling quite as good about my Seager winning pick.
NS (8:25 p.m.): Love a good buzzer beater. That was quite a showing from the youngster.
MM (8:25 p.m.): He’s got more home runs than his age! I hope Albert Pujols does that.
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MM (8:27 p.m.): Another buzzer beater! 32 dingers for J-Rod! He is absolutely electric.
WL (8:28 p.m.): Phew. It’s kind of hard to tell early on how many home runs qualify as an unbeatable total with how new records are seemingly set every year, but that seems like a high bar for Seager to clear.
WL (8:29 p.m.): Aaaand yeah, it is.
NS (8:30 p.m.): I have no data to back this up but Corey Seager’s BP thrower doesn’t appear to be rapid-firing pitches quite like J-Rod’s was.
MM (8:31 p.m.): If this Derby were at Globe Life Field in Texas, Seager would be the winner, for sure: 16 of his 22 homers this year have come at home. And that’s where he was the World Series MVP in 2020.
WL (8:32 p.m.): The PA announcer just asked Dodgers fans to lend Seager some support. It may be too late. He has 18 with 20 seconds left in regulation and a minute of bonus time.
NS (8:33 p.m.): One home run every five seconds for a full minute sounds exhausting.
WL (8:35 p.m.): RIP to my winner pick. It was a good run.
MM (8:37 p.m.): Soto is still on track, although I did say that if J-Rod beats Seager he wins it all, so does that mean I win either way?
WL (8:38 p.m.): Not if Alonso wins his third straight! Here he comes against Ronald Acuña, who is a pretty strong No. 7 seed.
WL (8:41 p.m.): We have our first over-the-awning shot!
MM (8:41 p.m.): Acuña should get 5 minutes of bonus time for that blast!
NS (8:41 p.m.): FOUR SEVENTY TWO. That should count for extra.
NS (8:44 p.m.): The “wow” factor of J-Rod’s 32 homers is growing with each passing minute
WL (8:45 p.m.): Yeah, I guess we saw why he had a 70 future raw power grade as a prospect.
WL (8:46 p.m): Alright, here’s the two-time defending champ. If Pete can match what he’s done in the past couple of derbies, he should be able to beat Acuña’s total of 19.
MM (8:48 p.m.): Pete gets so into this Derby. He makes it so much fun! He should come back ever year.
WL (8:49 p.m.): This stat from our colleague Steph Apstein in her piece on Alonso today blew my mind: “Over his first two Derbies, Alonso made more money ($3 million total) than he did in his first three seasons with the Mets ($1.8 million.)”
MM (8:50 p.m.): Pay the man, Uncle Stevie!
WL (8:51 p.m.): And we get our second over-the-awning shot of the night from Alonso. He’s moving on. What a display that was. Felt like he certainly had the highest average height on his home runs, and probably distance, too.
NS (8:52 p.m.): The Dinger King moves on, just as the prophecy foretold.
NS (8:57 p.m.): Most of the outfield is still in the sun, so I’m willing to grade on a bit of a curve here. But it needs to be said: the defense from the ball kids could be better.
MM (8:57 p.m.): Why don’t you go out there and try it?! As someone who has humiliated himself trying to catch something in front of fans in a stadium competition, I can say it isn’t as easy as it looks!
NS (8:58 p.m.): If only I’d brought my glove, I’d go all Billy Madison out there.
NS (9:01 p.m.): Real champs put in the work.
WL (9:05 p.m.): José Ramirez’s pitcher went rapid fire in that bonus round like no one else has so far. But he “only” ended up with 16, and that probably won’t be enough to beat Soto.
NS (9:07 p.m.): José Ramírez career home run splits: 131 HR batting lefty (1 per 23.3 PA), 51 HR batting righty (1 per 26.5 PA). Have to question the strategy to go righty tonight.
MM (9:08 p.m.): I was very confused there. He has 3 in 87 ABs (1 per 29 AB) batting right-handed this year and 16 in 243 (1 per 15.2 AB) batting lefty this year.
WL (9:09 p.m.): A piece of supporting evidence for my tendency to support southpaws in the Derby! Yeah, odd choice.
WL (9:11 p.m.): Juan Soto is on pace to beat Ramirez, but he’s been getting under an awful lot of pitches and pushing them to left field. Hasn’t been a convincing round. Did we just peak too early with Julio?
MM (9:11 p.m.): Soto walks it off and flips the bat. Doesn’t even need the bonus time he earned. Electric!
NS (9:11 p.m.): No bonus time needed, but that’s not a great pace to hang with whoever emerges from Alonso vs. J-Rod.
MM (9:13 p.m.): Guys, it’s Tío Albert time.
MM (9:14 p.m.): Uh-oh, Albert is facing a righty.
NS (9:15 p.m): A timeout less than a minute in is … concerning.
MM (9:15 p.m.): Greatest tweet yet:
WL (9:15 p.m.): Yeah, that was rough. If he couldn’t beat Garret Anderson in 2003, I don’t think he’s going to beat Kyle Schwarber in 2022.
NS (9:16 p.m.): Did not expect to watch Albert taking hacks soundtracked to “Way 2 Sexy” but here we are.
WL (9:18 p.m.): Much better post-timeout!
MM (9:19 p.m.): This is incredible. All of the All-Stars are on the field greeting Albert Pujols before he gets his bonus round in. This is beautiful.
MM (9:21 p.m.): It was clear that Albert Pujols isn’t the slugger he once was, but that was pretty cool to see him in the Derby.
WL (9:22 p.m.): Pretty great and well-deserved. That was always going to be more about a coronation for one of the GOATs than a turn-back-the-clock power display.
MM (9:23 p.m.): How much time will Schwarber need to advance?
WL (9:24 p.m.): Definitely won’t need the bonus.
WL (9:27 p.m.): Gonna stop predicting things.
MM (9:30 p.m.): SWING OFF! SWING OFF! SWING OFF! (This is elder abuse.)
WL (9:31 p.m.): The internet didn’t love Pujols’s first round, but Dodger Stadium is loving this swing-off showing from Albert.
WL (9:32 p.m.): Everyone, get your Undertaker GIFs ready!
NS (9:32 p.m.): I’m here for any and all conspiracy theories that the game is rigged.
MM (9:33 p.m.): Albert hits 7 more! I cannot wait for this to go into a double swing off.
WL (9:34 p.m.): Schwarber is out!
MM (9:34 p.m.): OH MY GOD!
NS (9:34 p.m.): HE DID IT.
MM (9:35 p.m.): This is a greater upset than UMBC over UVA!
WL (9:41 p.m.): ESPN just showed a graphic of the bracket with a picture of two Albert Pujolses going against each other in the semifinals rather than just one Machine against Juan Soto. Now THAT would be elder abuse.
MM (9:41 p.m.): HAHA
MM (9:42 p.m.): J-Rod or Pete? Who ya got?
WL (9:43 p.m.): It’s hard to go against J-Rod here. Plenty of rest after going first in the first round and setting a bar that’s yet to be topped (Everyone has had some extra time to get ready after a bizarrely timed HR competition between two high schoolers here at Dodger Stadium after the first round).
MM (9:43 p.m.): It’s also very tough to pick against Alonso. I think I’m going to do it though. It’s J-Rod time.
NS (9:44 p.m.): I can’t go against Pete. J-Rod is due for some regression, and Pete is Ol’ Reliable in this arena.
MM (9:47 p.m.): Another buzzer beater for Julio Rodríguez. He’s 3-for-3 at the buzzer. He’s got 23 this round, after hitting 32 last round. Here comes the bonus time.
MM (9:50 p.m.): The buzzer beater streak is over but J-Rod finishes the round
with 31 homers! Wow.
EB (9:51 p.m.): Wow hi sorry everyone I finally finished my Dodger Dog story (Editor’s note: Coming out tomorrow, readers!), so I can participate now.
WL (9:51 p.m.): J-Rod has the two highest totals so far. This is absurd. Alonso’s really gonna have to earn that Three-Pete nickname.
NS (9:52 p.m.): Before tonight, the most home runs by a Pete Alonso derby opponent were 28 by Salvador Perez in last year’s first round. Tall task to get a shot at the Three-Pete.
EB (9:55 p.m.): Wow. Alonso got a little something going there coming out of that time-out, but to beat a total like 31, this was just too deep of a hole to be in too early.
WL (9:56 p.m.): 13 home runs in 60 seconds of bonus time to tie J-Rod. Just be a legend and do it, Pete.
EB (9:56 p.m.): I wanna believe.
NS (9:57 p.m.): Clearly Pete needed one more set of deadlifts.
NS (9:58 p.m.): The Derby King is dead. Long live the Derby King.
WL (9:58 p.m.): Pete may have had the most majestic moonshots tonight, but he won’t have the most. He’s outta here, and J-Rod is moving onto the finals.
NS (9:59 p.m.): J-Rod is just 28 home runs shy of the all-time record for a single derby, set by Vladdy Jr. in 2019.
WL (10:00 p.m): Y’all. What if this ends up being J-Rod vs. Pujols?
EB (10:00 p.m.): The Kid vs. The Machine. I need it!
NS (10:00 p.m.): I need it, and I need it now.
WL (10:05 p.m.): I kinda figured the home run hitters would be able to choose their soundtracks for their rounds, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that’s not the case. Don’t think 42-year-old Pujols is purposely bumping the new Kendrick Lamar.
NS (10:07 p.m.): At stake for Julio Rodriguez next round: a $1 million check, or $300,000 more than his entire 2022 salary. Big stakes!
WL (10:08 p.m.): Gotta give the outfield kids credit, their energy has picked up as the Derby has gone on. Ah, to be young.
WL (10:11 p.m.): Albert ends up with 15. Soto had 17 in his round and didn’t even have to use his bonus time. This should be the end of the road for Pujols … but that’s also what every single person watching thought about last round.
WL (10:15 p.m.): So, there’s a minute left in regulation and Soto only has seven.
EB (10:15 p.m.): It’s a lot of time left! But… as you said…. this feels eerily similar to what happened last time.
NS (10:16 p.m.): Juan Soto will need bonus time to send Albert packing, but feels like three more tanks in a minute is more than doable.
WL (10:17 p.m.): Yeah, getting six in the final minute of regulation after getting seven in the first two was very clutch. Also a few epic bombs in there that almost got to the right field concourse.
EB (10:19 p.m.): For all of 5 seconds there, the possibility of another swing-off danced before my eyes, and boy, was it glorious. Alas!
NS (10:19 p.m.): For the sake of Albert’s back and knees, I’m thankful he was spared another swing-off.
WL (10:20 p.m.): J-Rod vs. Soto in the finals. Who are we backing? Hint: Maybe pick whoever I’m not, and I’m going with Soto.
NS (10:20 p.m.): Total home runs tonight: Julio Rodriguez: 63, Juan Soto: 34.
NS (10:21 p.m.): Despite all evidence to the contrary, I’ll stick to my original pick and say Soto is saving his best for last.
WL (10:21 p.m.): He definitely hasn’t gotten in a groove like J-Rod has yet, but it feels like the leader through two rounds usually tires out in the finals. Plus, Soto’s pedigree and strong finish in the last round gives me some confidence.
EB (10:21 p.m.): I just can’t pick against what Rodriguez has done tonight. That first round?!? Too good to go against for me.
WL (10:22 p.m.): Very fair. Even though my head is going for Soto, my heart will be rooting for J-Rod to more than double his 2022 earnings with a win.
NS (10:27 p.m.): Were y’all aware before tonight that the final round is just two minutes of regulation instead of three? Seems like a weird move. Why would anyone want fewer dingers? In this economy.
EB (10:27 p.m.): Ooooh I don’t love that! If anything, I’d want to add a little time for the finals!
WL (10:28 p.m.): Seems like they change the rules every year. I guess it’s probably because of the aforementioned tiring out in the finals. Still a bit disappointing though.
NS (10:30 p.m.): Another buzzer beater! J-Rod has impeccable timing. 18 is the number for Soto, which is what he put up in the first round (though with more time).
WL (10:34 p.m.): If J-Rod does pull this off, he’d be the third rookie to win in the last five Derbies, joining Aaron Judge (2017) and Alonso (2019).
NS (10:36 p.m.): Over 40 seconds until his first home run, that’s not the pace that’s going to take down J-Rod
WL (10:38 p.m.): Soto’s screaming liner home runs just look so pretty. With nine and 32 seconds left in regulation plus the 60 seconds of bonus time he’s already clinched heading into his timeout, he’s rig
ht on pace to tie him. GIVE US A FINALS SWING-OFF!
MM (10:39 p.m.): Soto is going to do it! At least he’ll give us a swing-off.
NS (10:40 p.m.): That 15th one looked to be after the buzzer?! Regardless, what a finish to the round.
MM (10:40 p.m.): Yeah, not sure that was in time, but oh well.
WL (10:41 p.m.): Soto just hit six in the final 32 seconds of regulation.
WL (10:42 p.m.): … And he just won in overtime!
NS (10:42 p.m.): Now THAT’S a bat flip.
MM (10:42 p.m.): That was epic.
WL (10:45 p.m.): So, Juan Soto, who by far attracted the biggest pool of reporters during media availability today (non-Shohei Ohtani division) in the wake of his drama with the Nationals, wins the Derby with trade rumors swirling around him. Pretty great! We’ll see everyone tomorrow for the main event.
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