Hernández defeats Witt to become first Dodger to win HR Derby crown

ARLINGTON, Texas — In the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers, no player has ever won the Home Run Derby.

Teoscar Hernández changed that on Monday evening.

The 31-year-old Hernández outlasted Kansas City star Bobby Witt Jr., surviving a shot from Witt on his final swing to win the final 14-13.

Hernández signed a one-year free agent deal with the Dodgers this winter and has proven himself a key figure in a lineup that featured stars like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. And a year after his friend and former teammate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won his first Derby crown, Hernández became the seventh player from the Dominican Republic to win the title.

The event’s new format, which limited the number of pitches competitors could see in each round, did little to enthuse the crowd of 38,578 at Globe Life Field in the early going. Then came the finals, in which Witt nearly overcame a blistering start from Hernández but fell perhaps a foot short.

Witt, who grew up 20 minutes from Globe Life Field, won the High School Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., six years ago and appeared poised to win Monday. The new format allowed players to see up to 40 pitches in three minutes, then hit as many home runs as possible before missing three in a bonus round. In the final round, the time was reduced to two minutes and the pitches to 27. Witt finished his last round with 11.

He hit two home runs in bonus time, including one over 425 feet that earned him an extra out. And he nearly tied it with his final hit, but the ball bounced off the center field fence, giving Hernández the win and the $1 million prize.

Hernández survived a semifinal defeat to Alec Bohm, the Philadelphia third baseman with the most home runs in a single round, hitting 21 of the 40 pitches he faced in the first round.

Bohm moved on with Witt, Hernández and Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez. Two-time Derby champion Pete Alonso was eliminated in the first round, hitting just 12 homers, as were Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna, Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Texas Rangers favorite Adolis Garcia.

In the semifinals, Witt recovered from a slow start to finish with 17 home runs, giving Ramirez a window to advance to the finals. He also stumbled early in his round and never recovered, finishing with 12 home runs and hitting his bonus balls with no home runs.

The most exciting moments came in the other semi-final, when Hernández defeated Bohm in a deciding match after they had ended their rounds tied at 14-14.

Hernández homered on his second and third pitches in the swingoff. Bohm grounded one out to left field on the second pitch, but his third swing landed softly in the outfield grass, sending the 31-year-old two-time All-Star to the finals — and ultimately the crown as Home Run Derby champion.