The RotoGrinders Twitter account said it best: in the middle of an all-time duel between two of the game's most fearsome sluggers, Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, and with dozens of home runs flying out of Coors Field at all angles, it was... Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long who stole the show.
We're almost 100 percent sure that he meant to throw it where he did — though several Twitter users made comparisons to notoriously awful pitchers 50 Cent and Dr. Anthony Fauci — but it sure as heck took everyone by surprise regardless of his intent. That was during a three swing swing-off, after both stars were drained of most of their energy due to the 28 home runs apiece that they had delivered to the wildly entertained Coors Field crowd. The right time to make a joke? Why not, right? Soto had already hit two of the three, and he ended up hitting the third one out of the park as well to secure his ticket to the next round of the Derby despite Ohtani's exhilarating performance.
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But it would be doing a disservice to the game if we didn't acknowledge just how incredible Ohtani was, setting a Statcast-era record for an entire Home Run Derby with six 500-foot home runs in a single round.
It was the best possible way to finish off the first round, and having Long get in on the fun made it all the more enjoyable to witness.
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