Vladimir Guerrero Jr wins home run derby, defeats hometown favorite Julio Rodriguez in process
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – To the disappointment of Mariners fans at T-Mobile Park for the 2023 Home Run Derby and all around the world, there would be no storybook Julio Rodriguez in his hometown ballpark. Julio set a record with 41 homers in his first round, as no other player in derby history has hit more in any round, but that may have been to a fault as in his semifinal's matchup against Toronto Blue Jays star, Seattle’s centerfielder only tallied 20 bombs. There were a handful of surprises scattered throughout this derby, like Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr advancing to the semifinals after Baltimore Orioles star catcher Adley Rutschman dazzled the crowd in Seattle, but the most notable thing fans in the Emerald City will remember? The absolute showstopping round one performance from Julio Rodriguez that set history and may just give him a jumpstart for the rest of the season.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr is the 2023 Home Run Derby king (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Vladdy takes the crown, 16 years after his father did
In the 2007 Home Run Derby, then Los Angeles Angels star Vladimir Guerrero Sr took home the crown at AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Now, 16 years later and just up the West Coast, Vladimir Guerrero Jr has earned the crown with a strong performance. Vladdy avenges his 2019 loss to Pete Alonso, as the Blue Jays star fell short in the finals round of that derby as the Mets star got his first of two Home Run Derby crowns. Something to note about Guerrero Jr’s performance in this year's derby is that he was able to pace himself the whole way through, having solid but moderate numbers the whole way through so as to not burn himself out as the event went on. Considering the power possessed by Vladdy, the fact that he joins his father in the history books now in the list of derby winners, and how he was able to do it, it makes a lot of sense that he comes out as the winner of this year's event.
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez put on quite a show with his record setting 41-homers in round one (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
No hometown hero ending
After how close he got to winning last year's derby and how much that event was able to truly propel Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic born Julio Rodriguez into true superstardom, it seemed like destiny at that he was set to win this year's event in the ballpark that he’ll call home for years to come. While Julio hasn’t started the year out particularly hot, he’s been able to pick his game in the recent months as we have gotten into Seattle summer, with momentum seemingly picking up for him heading into the event. It was a no brainer at the time to add Rodriguez to the Home Run Derby field, but not so much at the time as an All-Star, before he was included a few days before the week began as an injury replacement for Houston Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez. After his first round showing, you would’ve thought that Julio was going to cruise out of the ballpark with that trophy, no problem.
The first good sign for Rodriguez was the fact that he didn’t have to start the entire derby itself off, as his first-round matchup with two-time derby winner Pete Alonso was saved to end the round. After a few surprises in the opening matchups, we were left to wonder if we might get any sort of twists and turns from the hometown star here in Seattle. Instead, those in attendance at T-Mobile Park and watching at home on ESPN witnessed Julio dazzle and destroy baseballs on his way to a 41-homer sequence. Rodriguez very clearly got into a rhythm, hitting the most homers in a round in derby history, one more than Vladdy’s 40 back in the 2019 derby. With the allotted bonus time that he received after his initial timer, it looked as though Julio was going to be able to get to his jersey number of 44, but 41 is still fine and obviously historic as we just mentioned. With the sort of power and groove that Julio had shown in round one, two thoughts popped into the mind: WOW! He’s going to steamroll his way to a win, and uh oh is he going to be able to pace himself?
With Julio advancing to round two and Vladimir Guerrero Jr easily beating Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts in his first-round matchup, a battle between American-League stars was set. Rodriguez once again had to go first in his matchup, and it was clear from the start that he wasn’t going to get out another stellar showing like round one. Julio lacked the same sort of rhythm that he had found in round one and wasn’t quite driving the ball as smoothly as he had during that record setting sequence. In his standard time slot, Rodriguez only hit 16 balls that left the yard but was able to tack on four more in his added time for a mediocre 20. It all seemed like not enough to beat Vladdy, whose proven power could seemingly pass 20 in any round. Although he “needed” the extra time to do it, Guerrero Jr looked almost to take his time after Rodriguez because he seemed confident that the 20 mark was nothing too hard to beat. It wasn’t, and he took down Julio to end the storybook that was being written.
While yes, it’s disappointing and somewhat sad that Rodriguez couldn’t put the storybook ending of this story that was set in motion as soon as he became the runner up in last year's derby down in Los Angeles, there might be some upside to the way that this all went for Julio. Often with the derby, there’s concern regarding the players hitting ability in the second half, considering how the body gets used to just hitting homers repeatedly for that specific event. It’s happened to some participants in years past, who see a dip in power and general production at the plate following the midsummer classic. Julio did battle some injuries last year in the second half, specifically to his wrist and back, and we’re hoping there isn’t anything to worry about this year. Considering that he didn’t go into the final and slam more homers, it may be a positive for him as he can (after the all-star game tomorrow) focus on the second half of the season as the Mariners look to fully place themselves back into the playoff picture. He did set a record and put on a pretty solid show after all, so it’s not like all was lost.
The 2023 Home Run Derby featured numerous young stars, including Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, who was the runner-up this year (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Surprises occur throughout bracket
There were a few notable surprises in this year's home run derby, outside of a few performances that we may have expected, two of those being in the first round. I wasn’t at all surprised to see Orioles star Adley Rutschman have a dazzling performance, sending several homers to us in the hit-it-here café before he switched to hit several more homers from the righty batter's box. I was surprised, though, to see White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr hitting the two furthest homers of the entire derby (First at 470 feet in round one, and then 484 in round two) and beating Rutschman. Given how Robert Jr has relatively struggled to find his footing and consistency overall as a player in MLB, I didn’t expect him to make any real noise in this year’s derby at all. Given how much fans at the ballpark enjoyed seeing Rutschman’s performance, perhaps a little extra considering he went to school just a state over at Oregon State, it seemed like he was destined to move on past his White Sox opponent. That wouldn’t be the case.
Given his homers in the months of May and June plus the start of July, I thought that Los Angeles star Mookie Betts was going to make some noise in his first ever home run derby. That wouldn’t be the case at all, as Betts only hit 11 homers out of T-Mobile Park for the lowest in any round of the entire derby. My sleeper pick, as you can view here on the “All-Star update show,” was perhaps a little sleepy himself as his performance lacked any real rhythm or groove and Mookie went out quietly in round one. Perhaps some may have been surprised by the effort that derby runner-up Randy Arozarena put up to even get to the final against Vladdy. But knowing that the Tampa Bay Rays star has risen to the occasion of the big moment several times throughout his young career already and his strong power, I really didn’t think that it was much of a surprise at all to see him get all the way to the final.
Big slam statistics from this year's derby
Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr hit the two furthest hit homers in the entire derby, with blasts of 470 and 484 feet
Three participants tied for the hardest hit homer in the derby at 113 MPH
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez’s 41 homers in round one is the most ever in a round of the derby all-time
Beats Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s 40 homers in a round during the 2019 derby
What’s next?
After the big event that is the Home Run Derby, we will wrap up the 2023 All-Star Week with the Midsummer Classic, the All-Star game itself. This historic and magical five-day stretch will end following tomorrow’s game, with two days off for the Seattle Mariners before they get back to the regular season on Friday, July 14th against the Detroit Tigers. The ballgame begins at 5PM PST and will be broadcast on FOX if you aren’t joining us at the ballpark. Seattle has three representatives in the game; George Kirby, Julio Rodriguez, and Luis Castillo. It is expected that Castillo will begin the game itself as the starting pitcher for the American League for a few reasons, such as it’s his home ballpark, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kirby follow him up immediately after so that Mariners fans can get their stars on display front and center.