Soto plays the long game, beats Rodríguez to win Home Run Derby originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It looked like the Home Run Derby was going to be the Julio Rodríguez show from start to finish, but in the end it was Juan Soto who outlasted him enough to take the crown.
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After losing to eventual champion Pete Alonso in the semifinals of last year’s event, Soto returned as the No. 3 seed and made easy work of Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez in the first round. With his offseason hitting coach and former Nationals minor league coach Jorge Mejia throwing for him, Soto topped Ramírez 18-17 without any bonus time.
Albert Pujols pulled off a stunner by beating No. 1 seed Kyle Schwarber in overtime, setting up a matchup with Soto in the semis. The 42-year-old cranked 15 homers before yielding the batter’s box to Soto. He got off to a slow start but managed to find a groove early enough to move past Pujols 16-15 and into the finals.
That set up a matchup with Rodríguez, who hit 63 home runs over the first two rounds to upset Corey Seager and the two-time reigning champ Alonso. Rodríguez, who like Soto was born in the Dominican Republic, set the bar with 18 homers to open the finals.
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Soto hit 15 home runs in regular time, shaking off another slow start to go on a tear in the final 30 seconds. He then won it with 10 seconds left in bonus time, celebrating with an emphatic bat flip as he was mobbed by Mejia and his family.
With his first career Derby win, Soto became the second-youngest player to ever win the event and the first National to do so since Bryce Harper in 2018. He already held the record for the longest homer in Derby history after launching a 520-foot blast at Coors Field last year during his matchup with Shohei Ohtani.
Though Soto’s future in Washington is a significant question mark after he reportedly declined a 15-year, $440 million extension offer from Washington, his already-illustrious D.C. career gained yet another benchmark Monday with his Derby win.
Soto will be the Nationals’ lone player representative in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, where he’ll join manager Davey Martinez in the NL dugout.
