Teoscar Hernandez defeats Colleyville Heritage alum Bobby Witt Jr. in the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby

Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Teoscar Hernandez spoiled a homecoming present for Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field on Monday night.

Hernandez defeated the Colleyville Heritage alum with a final-round score of 14-13, disappointing a crowd of 38,578. While many DFW fans may have left the stadium disappointed, it was a huge honor for Hernandez, who became the seventh Dominican player to win the derby.

“I mean this is amazing man,” Hernandez said after the win. “Everything I’m feeling right now, there’s no words to describe how I’m feeling in front of my family. It means a lot, I’m so grateful for any opportunity.”

Hernandez went first in the final round and knocked out 14 home runs, making the most of the bonus pitches. Already knowing the number he needed to eclipse, Witt got off to a slow start with just one home run in his first seven pitches. With just three home runs with 1:10 remaining in the final round, Witt wisely used a timeout to regroup.

Witt closed the gap to 14-11 entering his bonus round of three swings. With the finals on the line Witt didn’t register a home run until his third swing. With one out remaining Witt narrowed the gap down to 14-13, but his final swing hit the wall in center field, mere feet away from tying it at 14.

Semifinals

After an exciting first round, the field was whittled down to just four stars remaining. In the first semifinal Witt outlasted Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez with a score of 17-12 to advance to the final round.

In the other semifinals, the surprise of the derby Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm was matched against Teoscar Hernandez in a compelling battle. It came down to the bonus round with the two tied at 14 with Bohm at the plate.

Bohm had three bonus pitches to reach the final, but came up just short with his third bonus hit landing near the warning track. The two then continued their battle with a swing off with each getting three swings to add to their home run total.

Hernandez homered on two of his three swings to bring his total to 16. Bohm homered on his second swing and needed one more to tie, but his final swing landed well short as Hernandez advanced to the finals.

First round

The first round was tightly contested with a surprise contender making a strong impression. Bohm entered the derby with just 11 home runs and isn’t the big name some of his fellow contestants are.

However, Bohm got the night started with a bang as he tied for most home runs in the round despite a sluggish start. Through the first half of his turn Bohm had just seven home runs before calling a timeout to reset with 1:33 remaining in his round. Bohm. used the timeout to his advantage as he closed his round with 13 homers and another during the bonus round to finish with 21 in total.

Jose Ramirez tied Bohm with 21 home runs while Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. totaled 16. Witt made up even more ground in the bonus round as he drove in four extra home runs to finish with 20 to reach the semifinals.

Hernandez was arguably the most impressive of the round despite having to sweat out the last few batters. Hernandez hit 19 home runs, just enough to qualify for the semifinals, but it was his power that dazzled at. At one point Hernandez had the six longest home runs of the round.

Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia couldn’t use the home field advantage to advance as he narrowly missed the cutline with 18 home runs. Braves catcher Marcel Ozuna made a late charge in the final 90 seconds of his round, but couldn’t advance to the next round with just 16 home runs.

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso entered the contest with 19 home runs and was seen as one of the favorites to make the semifinals, but Alonso managed just 12 home runs. Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson was another that entered as one of the favorites for the derby with 28 home runs in the regular season, but Henderson managed just 11.