Slow and steady wins the race…for the tortoise, but not so much for the Polar Bear, whose bid for a three-peat in the MLB Home Run Derby was stopped in the 2022 semifinals by Mariners rookie phenom Julio Rodriguez.
Alonso needed just four homers in the quarters to get his one-minute bonus, but needed to get into that time to defeat Ronald Acuna Jr. by a 20-19 score, walking it off with a 420-footer as the higher seed and thus second batter.
“In the zone,” he bluntly told ESPN’s Buster Olney after his quarterfinal win, when noted by announcers Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez that Alonso seems to get stronger as the competition goes on.
Come the semis, Rodriguez, whose 32 homers in the quarters were the second-most ever in that round (behind Alonso’s 35 in 2021), hit seven in 1:16 before calling time out with 1:44 left. He then got in a groove and hit 10 over the next 1:15 and finishing regulation with 23. He then added seven in his bonus minute, leaving Alonso needing to top his first-round total by 10 just to tie it at 30.
Alonso stepped to the plate and nearly mirrored J-Rod to start, hitting six before calling time out with 1:44 left. He then came out with two in a row to re-start and finished with a flurry to get to 18 at the end of regulation, five behind where Rodriguez was and needing a dozen to tie.
Related
But 60 seconds later, the Polar Bear’s Derby life went into early hibernation, as he hit just six in the final minute and fell short, losing 31-24 and making Dave Jauss’ third pot of coffee a post-mortem one.
No shame in that game, as Rodriguez became the first player ever to have two 30-homer rounds in the Derby – there had been just four total prior to 2022 – and
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Listen live to WFAN via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
Follow WFAN on Social Media:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch