Pete Alonso’s defense of his Home Run Derby title got off to a historic start. The Mets first baseman, who won the event in 2019, hit a first-round record 35 home runs at Coors Field on Monday...
Pete Alonso’s defense of his Home Run Derby title got off to a historic start.
The Mets first baseman, who won the event in 2019, hit a first-round record 35 home runs at Coors Field on Monday Night. He broke the previous record of 28 set by the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton in 2008 at Yankees Stadium when the competition was competed in a different format.
“This is everything I dreamed of when I was a young kid,” Alonso told ESPN. “I’m living in the moment right now.”
Alonso’s longest home run traveled 514 feet and his hardest was hit 115 mph. He clobbered 16 of his blasts 450 feet or more. He declared prior to the event at this year’s MLB All-Star Game that he would win it again and easily moved on to the next round after the Royals’ Salvador Perez hit 28.
“Wow, just wow,” Fernando Tatis told ESPN of Alonso’s first round. The Padres star admitted he’d love to go head-to-head with the 26-year-old slugger. “Some day, I’m looking forward to it.
The 26-year-old Alonso is batting .250 with 17 homers and 49 RBIs this season for the first-place Mets.
There wasn’t a home run derby in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Joseph Staszewski
