The New York Mets first baseman won the 2021 Home Run Derby with 23 home runs in the final round to claim his second straight title.
Perhaps slotting Pete Alonso fifth in the Home Run Derby field was a mistake by the organizers of the event. The reigning Home Run Derby Champion was able to retain his title with an impressive performance from the start.
Pete Alonso was matched up against Royals catcher Salvador Perez in Round 1 and proceeded to launch 35 bombs compared to 28 from Perez. While the effort from Perez was commendable considering this was not the expected output from the Kansas City backstop, he was no match for Alonso.
Round 2 was a close call for Alonso as he was matched up with Juan Soto. Both Alonso and Soto eclipsed the 30 home run mark in Round 1, but they failed to reach 20 in Round 2. Alonso was able to squeak by with a 16-15 victory over the Nationals star.
The final round provided an intriguing matchup, but not the one that was expected. Trey Mancinci knocked out Shohei Ohtani to advance to the final. Pete Alonso was presented with quite the challenge with Mancini finishing with 22 home runs even after his lengthy matchup with Ohtani. Luckily for Alonso, he had some time to recharge and get ready to defend his title. Alonso proceeded to beat Mancini by just one as he won his second straight Home Run Derby.
The 74 home runs from Pete Alonso are the second-most all-time just behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 2019 performance. Alonso’s 131 total home runs in the derby is now the most all-time and is the third multiple time winner. Previous multiple winners include Ken Griffey Jr. (3), Prince Fielder (2), and Yoenis Cespedes (2).
