See photos of Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. coming oh-so-close to winning MLB Home Run Derby

If there were any doubts whether or not Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. deserved to have a spot in the 2024 MLB All-Star game’s annual Home Run Derby there are none now.

The night started with eight Major League All-Stars, including Witt, slugging it out under the roof at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. This year’s competition used a new format to whittle the hitters down to the two best for a head to head slugfest.

Witt finished the preliminary rounds with a total of 37 runs to make it to the championship round where he battled it out with Los Angeles Dodgers’ outfielder Teoscar Hernández who qualified with 35 runs.

Hernández was first at bat in the final and stepped up to the plate with a hot bat swatting out 14 runs.

Witt came a few feet away from tying up the final when on his final out, his shot to centerfield bounced off the outfield wall about half way up. He finished the final with 13 runs handing the title to Hernández.

Here are photos from Bobby Witt Jr.’s big night in the derby.