It’s tough to beat a man with 687 career MLB homers in anything dinger-related, as NL home run leader Kyle Schwarber found out when he fell to Albert Pujols, 20-19, in a swing-off in the quarterfinals of the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby.
Schwarber, whose 29 home runs made him the No. 1 seed in the Derby, drew No. 8 seed Pujols in the quarters, only this season’s six of his 685 homers counting towards seeding.
Pujols hit 13, the lowest total of the seven quarterfinalists to that point, leaving it looking like Schwarber would easily advance, and indeed, his first swing was a 430-foot Schwarbomb – but he had just seven when he called time out with 1:10 left, and cracked only three more in the final 70 seconds, needing four in the final 60 seconds of bonus time needing four to pass Pujols and win the round.
The first half-dozen swings failed to leave the yard, bur he got two in a row, then a third, but it went to a swing-off when his final swing of the bonus round fell just short of the wall.
Come the 60-second swing-off, Pujols came out swinging with a dinger on his first swing, and he went on a heater at the end of the period that saw him finish with seven in the swing-off and 20 total. Schwarber stepped up once again, and got all the way to 19…but his last two swings fell short, and Pujols moved on.
In an ultimate show of respect, though, Schwarber immediately congratulated Pujols by making a bowing “I’m not worthy” gesture, and giving the veteran a huge hug.
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So, it was the active leader in home runs advancing over the NL first-half leader, Pujols moving on to face Juan Soto while two-time defending champ Pete Alonso faced Julio Rodriguez – whose 32 homers was the quarterfinal high – in the other semi.
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