Inside Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s unimaginable Derby efficiency
Jeff PassanESPN
CloseESPN MLB insider
Creator of “The Arm: Contained in the Billion-Greenback Thriller of the Most Useful Commodity in Sports activities”
CLEVELAND — On the night time he hit greater than seven miles’ value of residence runs, an evening that confirmed the world that he is way over the title he inherited from his well-known father, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launched himself into the annals of Dwelling Run Derby historical past by smashing baseballs in never-before-seen vogue. And that, it seems, was tiring. Vlad Jr. simply needed a second to himself, and when he completed answering the ultimate query about his 91-home run efficiency on the 2019 Derby, he took a breath and mentioned, “Ay dios mio.”
Which, really, summed up the night time fairly effectively. Whether or not it was his record-setting first spherical, his epic second-round duel or his going-on-fumes closing spherical, Vlad Jr., the 20-year-old Toronto Blue Jays rookie, would be the enduring reminiscence of the 35th Derby. It could’ve been good for him to beat the precise winner, New York Mets rookie Pete Alonso, and take the $1 million prize that got here with the victory. Guerrero, like Mark McGwire and Josh Hamilton earlier than him, as an alternative settled for uplifting numerous followers and viewers to utter the English translation of what he mentioned exhaustedly because the night neared its finish: “Oh my God.”
It is probably the most succinct summation of what came about on Monday at Progressive Discipline. Guerrero began the day with eight profession main league residence runs and questions on whether or not he belonged within the discipline when 181 large leaguers have hit extra homers than he has this season. He erased some doubts when he deposited the primary pitch he noticed 462 toes off the scoreboard in left discipline, cleared them for good when he set a single-round file with 29 residence runs within the first spherical and made them appear laughable after he outlasted Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Joc Pederson in a triple-overtime second-round battle he received 40-39.
Sure, Vlad Jr. hit 40 residence runs in a single spherical: 29 of them in the usual 4 minutes with 30 seconds of bonus time for hitting balls thus far, eight within the minute-long further interval, one in a three-swing tiebreaker and two extra in one other tiebreaker that Pederson merely could not match.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits a Dwelling Run Derby-record 29 residence runs for a second straight spherical however falls simply wanting his 30th lengthy ball.
By the point Alonso hit his closing residence run to win the ultimate 23-22, Guerrero’s numbers nearly defied perception. He noticed 207 pitches. He swung at 195 of them. He homered on 91. He hit 38,641 toes value of residence runs — the longest 488 toes, the shortest 373, the typical greater than 424. He completed with 34 extra homers in his three rounds than Alonso. He had the seven hardest-hit balls. After one night time, he has the second-most residence runs in Derby historical past — and almost 5 occasions as many as his father, the Corridor of Fame outfielder who received the 2007 Derby.
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“He was the star of the present,” mentioned John Schneider, the Blue Jays coach who might need had the best vantage level within the stadium: He was pitching to Guerrero. Schneider did not precisely take time to admire the balls like the gang of 36,119. He did, nevertheless, see the fruits of his labor flying excessive into the sky time and again and once more from a right-handed swing that’s equal components fairly and ferocious. 5 occasions within the first spherical Vlad Jr. hit 4 consecutive pitches for residence runs. He dispatched Matt Chapman, a last-second substitute for the top-seeded Christian Yelich, 29-13.
Throughout a follow spherical this week, Guerrero hit 17 residence runs. He wasn’t happy with the consequence, Schneider mentioned, however wasn’t nervous both. Guerrero, Schneider mentioned, declared that he was going to hit 30 within the first spherical and knock out Yelich. He got here near 30 towards Chapman and blew previous it in his slugfest with Pederson.
Guerrero’s most spectacular stretch of the night time got here in the course of the second spherical. In a 2-minute, 1-second window, he swung at 25 pitches and homered on 19 of them. It was paying homage to Hamilton, who, in a earlier format that did not pit gamers head-to-head, homered 28 occasions on 38 swings.
“It is fairly customary for him,” mentioned Marcus Stroman, Guerrero’s Blue Jays teammate. “It is easy. It is very simple. Did not shock me within the slightest.”
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits two homers within the second swing-off, and Joc Pederson can’t match him, sending Vlad Jr. to the finals.
Pederson’s matching Guerrero’s 29 residence runs to drive the minute-long extra time was a tad shocking, and his following Guerrero’s eight residence runs with eight of his personal was maybe much more so. Pederson was taking the quantity strategy, swinging 84 occasions to Guerrero’s 73 in these five-and-a-half minutes. Given the benefit of going second, Pederson might solely tie Guerrero’s one residence run within the first swing-off and had two probabilities to drive a fourth tiebreaker however did not homer on both.
Guerrero laughed as they embraced at residence plate following Pederson’s closing swing. Even when he would not go on to win, he had received by surviving.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit 91 residence runs — greater than seven miles’ value — in his unforgettable Dwelling Run Derby debut. Gregory Shamus/Getty Photos
“That was elite hitting,” Alonso mentioned. “That was a number of the finest rounds of BP I’ve ever watched. That was up there with — I feel that was even higher than the Josh Hamilton spherical as a result of each of them going forwards and backwards, and clawing again the best way that Joc did, he had his work reduce out for him. … I do not know if we’re ever going to see that once more. That was particular.”
Guerrero tried to summon that magic within the closing spherical. Whereas Schneider beforehand fed him pitches over the guts of the plate, within the closing spherical Guerrero requested him to depart the ball barely inside so he might cheat to his pull facet. Schneider tried to raise pitches to maintain Guerrero from needing to make use of his tiring legs.
“Form of did it on adrenaline, I feel,” Schneider mentioned. “His final spherical was higher than my final spherical, to be trustworthy. After that second spherical, it was so mentally and bodily exhausting, and he nonetheless put up 22, which not many individuals did that in any respect.”
It greater than validated Main League Baseball’s selection to ask Guerrero, who entered the season as probably the most well-regarded hitting prospect in years. Now he has an indelible second to connect to his title and pedigree, which is the very form of factor the Derby ought to serve to do.
“My 15-year-old was all for it,” New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia mentioned. “Even my ladies. They’re actually not that into baseball, and so they had been into the Derby.”
How could not they be? Vlad Jr. vs. expectations within the first spherical was a convincing KO. Vlad Jr. vs. Joc within the second spherical turned an exhibition that runs the danger of redundancy into grand theater. Vlad Jr. vs. Alonso was two rookies enjoying for a prize almost twice their $555,000 salaries. Nonetheless excessive the expectations, the 2019 Derby exceeded them.
Schneider is aware of. Earlier this week, his spouse stuffed out a Derby bracket and picked Vlad Jr. She requested Schneider what number of to decide on. Bryce Harper received the earlier yr with 45, so, Schneider mentioned, in all probability 55.
He chortled. How quaint. How naïve. He is a coach on the Blue Jays’ employees. He is aware of Guerrero’s energy. He ought to’ve seen one thing like this coming.
Then once more, come on. This was the form of night time even dreamers cannot think about. Dwelling runs upon residence runs, miles and miles of them, from a child with a cherubic face and blond-dyed dreadlocks and an enthralling smile, and the captured hearts of everybody who noticed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. do what he did Monday and could not assist themselves once they mentioned, “Oh my God.”