LDN - Sports

Marlins' Stanton belts record 61 homers to win Home Run Derby

[July 12, 2016] By Bill Center, The Sports Xchange

SAN DIEGO -- Giancarlo Stanton flew across the country Sunday night with one goal in mind -- win the Home Run Derby.

The Miami Marlins right fielder isn't a member of the National League All-Star team, but he was invited to swing for the fences in Monday night's featured preliminary to the Midsummer Classic.

"Taking the flight out here just for this, I figured it's a waste if I don't bring this bad boy home," Stanton said after claiming the Derby crown.

But Stanton didn't just win the Home Run Derby -- he pounded it into submission.

Stanton routed defending champion Todd Frazier of the Chicago White Sox, 20-13, in the championship round to finish with an event-record 61 homers over three rounds at Petco Park in the lead-up to Tuesday night's 87th All-Star Game.

Thirty-nine of Stanton's shots topped 440 feet. His longest launch of the night was 497 feet in the first round, which is 39 feet longer than the longest homer hit during the first 12 1/2 seasons of baseball at the downtown home of the San Diego Padres.

Stanton's 61 homers traveled an estimated 27,187 feet -- or 5.15 miles. He homered on five straight balls once in all three rounds.

"I knew I could do it endurance-wise," Stanton said. "It's just if my bat, my swing is going to fall apart a little bit. I knew I could do it if I was in there and luckily my bat path stayed where it needed to be."

Stanton defeated Baltimore Orioles outfielder Mark Trumbo 17-14 in the semifinal round after routing former champion Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners 24-7 in the first round.

Stanton had 14 blasts of 440-plus feet in the first round. He had 14 more in the second with a long of 486 feet. And he had 11 in the championship round. Pitching to Stanton was Marlins coach and replay coordinator Patrick Shine.

"To be honest with you, I didn't look back to see where they were landing," said Shine. "He was focusing on the next pitch."

Frazier, now with the Chicago White Sox after winning last year's Home Run Derby as a member of the All-State Game host Cincinnati Reds, had no homers in the final round of 440 feet or more, meaning he didn't qualify for the 30-second bonus round at the end of his four-minute round.

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Frazier defeated Cincinnati's Adam Duvall 16-15 on the final swing of their semifinal match. Frazier had two home runs of more than 440 feet in the semifinals, with a long of 448 feet. None of the 15 home runs hit by Duvall topped 435 feet in the semifinals.

Stanton put on a serious display of power in the first round to rout Cano. Cano's longest drive was recorded at 452 feet.

Last year, in the first season of the timed format, no hitter topped 15 homers in the first round. This season, both Stanton and Trumbo did. Trumbo defeated Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, 16-15, although Trumbo did not need the 30-second bonus round.

Ten of Trumbo's shots traveled more than 440 feet with a long of 479. Seager's longest homer traveled 455 feet.

Duvall eliminated Wil Myers of the All-Star Game host San Diego Padres 11-10 with 84 seconds remaining on the four-minute clock. Pitching to Myers was his 19-year-old brother Beau, who hit the Padres first baseman on the left shoulder with one of his throws. Myers had not been hit by a pitch during the first half of the season.

Frazier defeated Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies, 13-12, with 39 seconds left. Gonzalez's elimination meant all three contestants from the National League West were knocked out in the opening round.

NOTES: T-Mobile, which sponsored this year's Home Run Derby, presented a check of $582,000 to MLB Charities after the Derby. ... Miami RF Giancarlo Stanton hit 18 of the 19 longest homers in Monday's Derby, including all 10 of the longest. ... Chicago 3B Todd Frazier came up short in his pursuit of becoming the third back-to-back winner in Derby history. Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Cespedes (2013-14) were the others. ... Bobby Abreu held the previous high for the most home runs hit in a single Derby at 41. Both Stanton (61) and Frazier (42) eclipsed that mark. ... Stanton was the first player in Marlins franchise history to win the Derby.

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