In an incredible display, Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier defeated Los Angeles Dodgers rookie center fielder Joc Pederson to take home the home run derby belt. The crowd absolutely exploded every time the ball jumped off Frazier’s bat. It isn’t often you get to see something like that. He definitely wasn’t hitting bombs, but he showed tremendous power and control with the bat as he consistently hit line drives out of the yard. Having the home crowd behind him definitely helped push him in that last round with Pederson setting the bar high.
This was a final battle of two completely different kind of power hitters. Joc Pederson has a home run or pop up type of swing and it definitely showed all night. His furthest home run was 487 feet, which was the farthest of the night, but the more composed, controlled veteran came out on top tonight. Across the board, this was one of the best home run derby’s I’ve witnessed because everybody had a good night. Even the guys who were out in the first round I believe everybody hit at least 8 home runs. Veteran slugger Albert Pujols showed that he still has it, as it looked like he was going to go to the Finals, but he fell just short. He was the only hitter who hit second and lost. It seemed like the guy who knew what the bar was and how many home runs he needed to hit in order to win came out on top.
Tonight was an excellent display with a mixture of young guns and veterans. You could tell who was in this for the first time and who wasn’t because both of the Chicago Cubs young players, third baseman Kris Bryant and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, looked a little uncomfortable. Don’t be fooled, they will be back, and the Major Leagues has a plethora of great young power hitters who are here to stay. Frazier had a chip on his shoulder after losing last season and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Pederson comes back next year and wins it.
I must say that the new format was surprisingly entertaining. Mostly because everybody was up to the challenge and it was a very balanced competition. I was on the edge of my seat during every round and as the clock was running down it was nerve racking to see who would wind up pulling it out. It was that close. It also didn’t hurt listening to the roar of the crowd every time Frazier got a hold of one. This was a promising start to a special week in Cincinnati, Ohio. “The Toddfather” walks off and takes home the belt a champion.
