It’s the annual Home Run Derby with eight players batting it out for the Silver Bats trophy.

This year there are three player born in Cuba participating in the Derby.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr returns to try for the win and if he can pull it off he will join his father Vlad Sr as the only father/son combo to win the Home Run Derby.  Junior also holds the record for the most homers in a single round with 41 and 91 for the night.

Pete Alonso returns and is looking to become a three time Derby winner.  He also holds the record for the most home runs all time in the Derby.

Known as a rainy city, the sun is shining tonight in Seattle and the stadium is packed!

Each player gets three minutes to hit as many homers as possible in the first two rounds.  The two remaining players in the final round get two minutes each to hit their homers.  A player gets a 45 second time-out once per round.

Each player will receive a bonus of 30 seconds at the end of the round; but a player can earn an additional 30 seconds of bonus time is he hits at least two homers over 440 feet.

In the case of a tie-breaker, each player gets one minute; if the numbers are still tied, then the round moves to a swing off.

Getting the night of flying baseball started are Adolis Garcia and Randy Arozarena.  For these two players, it’s a family affair with both very good friends and one the god father of the other’s child.

Up first is Tampa Bay Rays player Randy Arozarena who had a bit of a slow start before hitting many of his 24 homers into the second deck.

Adolis Garcia gets off to a quick start hitting the balls over the fence; knocking a total of 17 homers.

Randy Arozarena wins the round.  He is the first Tampa Bay Rays player to win a round at the home run derby.


Next up are Adley Rutschman and Luis Robert Jr.

Adley takes the plate first and has his Dad pitching to him.  His first two hits went into the stands.  A switch hitter, he is the only left handed player in the Derby.  For his bonus round Adley switches sides and bats right handed where he adds another six homers for a total of 28 home runs.

He called his 27 home runs respectable. 

Next up is the number one seed, Chicago White Sox Luis Robert Jr who is the first player to earn the extra bonus time for hitting at least two homers over 440 feet.  Robert hit 27 homers in his three minute time limit before any bonus time.  With 47 seconds remaining in his bonus round Luis Robert Jr hit a home run to win the round.

Luis Robert will face Rany Arozarena in round two.


Mookie Betts and Vladimir Guerrero Jr will face off for the third paring. 

Up first is Vladimir Guerrero who earns a second 30 second bonus after hitting two balls over 440 feet.  He hit a total of 26 home runs over a four minute period.

Los Angeles Dodgers player Mookie Betts didn’t believe he had a chance of beating Guererro.  He used all three minutes without taking a time out.  After his 30 second bonus round, Mookie hit a total of eleven homers. 

Vladimir Guererro wins the round.


The final pairing is Pete Alonso and home town favourite Julio Rodriguez.

Up first is Julio Rodriguez and the house is on their feet with phones in hand.  He hit 10 homers in the first minute!  With many of the balls travelling at over 100mph, Julio hit 32 homers in the first three minutes and still has one minute of bonus time remaining.  He hit a total of 41 homers, tying Vladimir Guererro for the most homers in a single round.

When asked how he did it Julio said “swinging and a really really good pitcher.”  He called the 41 homers a good number.  His bad had pictures of home plates on it and said “there’s no place like home”.

The final batter in round one is New York Mets player Pete Alonso.  The crowd boos him when he is announced.  He has just 19 homers at the end of the three minute time period; but has a full minute of bonus time.  Pete Alonso hit just 21 home runs in his round.  Julio Rodriguez wins the round and will face Vladimir Guererro Jr in the next round.


The second round is Cuba facing off against the Dominican Republic.

First up in round is Randy Arozarena who hit 30 homers with a full one minute of bonus time coming.  He hit another five in the bonus round for a total of 35 homers.

Luis Robert Jr takes the plate and earns his one minute bonus time after only six homers.  After the bonus time, Luis Robert Jr hit a total of 22 home runs.

Randy Arozarena wins the round and moves on to the final round.


Vladimir Guererro and Julio Rodriguez will face off to determine who will move on to the final round.

Up first is Julio Rodriguez only hit 18 homers in his three minute time limit.  With no homers over 440 feet, Rodriguez only gets 30 seconds of bonus time to add to his total.  After his bonus time Julio Rodriguez hit a total of 20 home runs.

Vladimir Guererro takes the plate and earns the second 30 seconds of bonus time with two homers over 440 feet.  Vladimir needs only one more home run in the bonus round to move on to the final round.  Fifteen seconds into the bonus round, Vladimir hits his 21st homer to win the round and face off with Randy Arozarena for the final round.


Vladimir Guerrero takes the plate first and has two minutes to hit his homers with the possibility of bonus time.  He hit 20 homers with a minute of bonus time.  Vladimir Guerrero hit a total of 25 home runs and sets a new record in the process.

Randy Arozarena is the final batter in the 2023 Home Run Derby.  He hits 21 homers in the two minute time limit but only has 30 seconds of bonus time to hit six more homers to win the title.

Arozarena hit a total of 23 home runs.

Vladimir Guerrero wins the Home Run Derby making him and his father Vlad Sr the only father/son duo to win the Derby. Guerrero needed a total of 63 home runs to earn the win.