We have a new Home Run Derby champion as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took home the crown for the first time Monday night. The Blue Jays star was the last slugger standing out of the eight-hitter field and edged Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in the finals at Seattle's T-Mobile Park on the eve of the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.
Guerrero Jr. set a record with 91 homers in the 2019 Derby in Cleveland, but lost in those finals to Pete Alonso. This time around, Vlad Jr. got past Mookie Betts in the first round, Julio Rodríguez in the second and Arozarena in the finals.
Here's a look at how the Derby bracket shook out:
2023 MLB Home Run Derby bracket, results
First round
- No. 5 Randy Arozarena (24) defeats No. 4 Adolis García (17)
- No. 1 Luis Robert Jr. (28) defeats No. 8 Adley Rutschman (27)
- No. 6 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (26) defeats No. 3 Mookie Betts (11)
- No. 7 Julio Rodríguez (41) defeats No. 2 Pete Alonso (21)
Semifinals
- Randy Arozarena (35) defeats Luis Robert Jr. (22)
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (21) defeats Julio Rodríguez (20)
Finals
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (25) defeats Randy Arozarena (23)
And now for 10 takeaways from the event.
1. Arozarena comes up just short
With both players noticeably exhausted in the finals, Guerrero prevailed with 25 homers to Arozarena's 23. Guerrero established the number of 25 without much break between rounds. He was the last player to hit in the second round and then was the first of the two to bat in the finals due to the seeding arrangement.
Arozarena finished his initial two minutes with 21 home runs, so he needed to hit four in 30 seconds to tie Guerrero. He homered twice quickly in the extra time, but then failed to homer in his last seven swings to clinch the victory for Vlad Jr. Watching him swing repeatedly with the clock ticking away was a nice illustration of how much fun the timer adds to this event.
Guerrero comes away with bragging rights, a trophy, a championship necklace and $1 million.
2. The Vlad Guerrero father-son combo!
Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero won the 2007 Home Run Derby in San Francisco's AT&T Park. With Vlad Jr.'s win Monday evening, they become the first-ever father-son duo to both win the Derby.
Here is Junior's final home run of the night:
And dad sent a congratulatory message after his son's victory.
3. Julio steals show with record-setting round
The star of the show in Seattle was always going to be Mariners star Julio Rodríguez, at least as long as he was able to hang around. He came through with a historic first round, wowing the crowd -- and opponent Pete Alonso -- with a record 41 home runs.
The previous record for the first round was 32, which Julio set last season as a 21-year-old in Dodger Stadium. He shattered the record and the home fans loved every second of it. Once Alonso was defeated, he walked toward Rodríguez to shake hands and could be seen saying, simply, "wow."
Forty-one was a record for any round. In 2019, Guerrero hit 40 in the second round, though it should be noted that it took two tiebreaker swing-offs between him and Joc Pederson. Both hit 29 in regulation, got to 37 through the first tiebreaker and then Guerrero hit three more in the second tiebreaker. In the 2023 Derby, Julio Rodríguez hit 41 in just hit standard three minutes plus the bonus time.
4. Arozarena's run at history
Arozarena hit 35 home runs in the second round, tying him with Alonso's 35 in the first round of 2021 for the fourth-most ever in a round. We already noted the top two were Julio Rodríguez with 41 this year and Vlad Jr. with 40 in 2019's second round, leaving Pederson's 39 -- when he was eliminated by Guerrero -- in the second round in 2019 for third place.
In all, Arozarena actually led the field Monday night with 82 total home runs. It was the second-highest total from one player in Derby history after Guerrero's 91-homer tally in 2019.
5. Who hit the longest blasts?
In all, there were 341 home runs. The longest home run came from Luis Robert at 484 feet. The hardest hit ball was 113 miles per hour off the bat of Pete Alonso. The longest average distance was Alonso's 419 feet. The entire field averaged 105.1 miles per hour on homers and 407 feet per home runs.
The total distance traveled, per Statcast, was 26.3 miles of home runs.
6. Two-time champ ousted early
One of the biggest names in this Derby was Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. He took down Guerrero in the 2019 Derby despite the first two rounds being all about Vlad. Alonso then defended his title in 2021 (there was no All-Star break in 2020) in Coors Field with another win. He advanced to the second round last season before losing to Rodríguez. This time around it was, again, Rodríguez who ousted Alonso.
Alonso hit 21 homers, and that's not a terrible figure. There just wasn't much to be done after seeing 41 put on the board before even stepping in the box.
Ken Griffey Jr., obviously a Seattle legend, maintains his all-time lead with three Home Run Derby championships.
7. All-time leaderboard well-represented in 2023
Alonso is still the all-time leader in Derby home runs. He now has hit 195 in this event's history. Two more sluggers moved toward the top of the leaderboard in 2023, too.
Most Derby home runs, all-time
1. Pete Alonso, 195
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 163
3. Julio Rodríguez, 142
4. Albert Pujols, 106
t5. Joc Pederson, 99
t5. Juan Soto, 99
7. Todd Frazier, 91
8. Giancarlo Stanton, 83
9. Randy Arozarena, 82
10. Prince Fielder, 81
We've already noted that Julio Rodríguez set the all-time record for the most home runs in a single round, too, and pay attention to where Arozarena slotted himself in the record books. It was a night for the ages.
8. Rutschman's switch
Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, from the Pacific Northwest (born and raised in Portland, attended Oregon State), put on a show in the first round. He went from hitting lefty to righty and got exceptionally hot in his extra time from the right side. Read the full story here.
9. Robert's effortless first round
For a second, it looked like White Sox slugger Robert was going to be a big story. Rutschman pulled the ol' switcharoo and ended up with 27 homers, which was a huge number. Robert calmly stepped into the box and eliminated Rutschman with 28 homers, barely needing any of his extra time. It certainly merits mention, even if the rest of the night seemed to bury the round. It was one of the best rounds in Derby history, after all.
10. Mookie's quiet night
Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts was the smallest man in the field and though he plays like an MVP in the regular season, he didn't seem too cut out for this event. He managed 11 homers, the lowest output of the night.
No worries, Mookie, this isn't for everyone and you're still one of the very best players in the world. Plus, 11 isn't that bad. There's been plenty of worse rounds in Derby history. Players have been shutout before.