Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was hyped up even more than hometown hero Giancarlo Stanton heading into Monday’s Home Run Derby at Marlins Park in Miami. And, boy, did he ever live up to the hype.
Judge matched up against Marlins first baseman Justin Bour in the first round and it looked like he’d have trouble advancing after Bour smacked 22 home runs. Judge tied Bour’s total of 22 homers just as regulation time expired, then hit his go-ahead 23rd home run with his 30 seconds of bonus time to advance into the second round. One of Judge’s homers went 501 feet.
Judge took on Dodgers phenom Cody Bellinger in the second round. Bellinger was able to hit 12 home runs, a very respectable total, but everyone knew it wasn’t enough to keep Judge out of the finals. Judge hit his 13th home run with one minute remaining on the clock. This time, he hit four home runs that went 500 feet or further.
In the final around, Miguel Sano was able to overcome fatigue enough to hit 10 homers. Judge tied Sano’s total with 2:18 on the clock. He hit his 11th and Derby-winning homer at 2:02. None of his homers in the finals went 500 feet, though.
The relatively new format of the Derby makes it difficult to compare, but Judge’s performance may very well have been the most dominant performance in a Home Run Derby. It didn’t seem like any of his opponents had a chance.
