Teoscar Hernández’s resurgent season with the Dodgers has been defined by the dramatics.
The veteran slugger’s first career appearance in the Home Run Derby was no different.
After advancing through each of the first two stages of Monday’s competition by just one home run, Hernández became the first Dodgers player in the event’s 40-year history to win, outslugging Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. by just one home run again, 14-13, in the final round at Globe Life Field on Monday night.
Hernández’s chances of even getting out of the opening round seemed in doubt early on, after the 31-year-old managed just 13 homers in the opening three-minute period of the eight-player first round.
However, in an untimed, three-out bonus period, Hernández caught fire, belting six home runs to edge out hometown Texas Rangers star Adolis García by one.
From there, the long balls kept on flying.
After another slow start to a semi-final matchup against Alec Bohm of the Philadelphia Phillies, Hernández went on a tear. He swatted seven big flies in a nine-swing sequence to reach 13 homers. He added a crucial 14th dinger in the bonus period, doing just enough to force a swing-off against Bohm, who had 14 homers in his timed period but came up empty on all three of his bonus swing attempts — including one that died at the warning track.
In a three-swing swing-off, Hernández hit two homers. Bohm could only counter with one, making Hernández the first Dodgers player to reach the final since Joc Pederson in 2015.
That set the stage for a final-round duel against Witt.
And just like in his first two rounds, Hernández found a groove with his swing just in time. He clobbered eight homers in a 12-swing sequence near the end of the timed period, then added three more in the bonus round to amass a total of 14.
That was more than Witt could match, with the burgeoning Royals infielder reaching 13 homers before clanking his final swing off the wall to clinch Hernández’s victory — one that comes with a $1-million prize.