Home Run Derby a major win for MLB

The Matchups

A fairytale night would have concluded with either Giancarlo Stanton defeating Aaron Judge or Aaron Judge defeating Giancarlo Stanton, take your pick. Unfortunately, that matchup did not come to fruition. However, there was plenty of entertainment thanks to the unpredictability of the head-to-head matchups.

All four matchups in the opening round were determined by one home run. Two upsets occurred, Miguel Sano over Mike Moustakas, and most notably, Gary Sanchez over Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton got in rhythm a little too late as he was out of breath when it came to crunch time. The underdog Gary Sanchez bested the defending champ on his home turf. On a sidenote, it’s safe to say Sanchez got the last laugh over Logan Morrison.

Cody Bellinger thought his derby hopes ended in the first round as his time had expired. Little did he know his final home run traveled more than 440 feet, granting him a 30 second bonus. Bellinger stepped back into the box and bashed two homers in that span to conquer Charlie Blackmon.

Justin Bour really got the crowd into it with his 22-homer first round, but judgement day came quickly, as Aaron Judge rallied off 23 long balls to take Bour down. It was a tough take down for the lovable Justin Bour, but Judge’s prevail was what we all wanted to see.