Yoenis Cespedes Wins Home Run Derby

Fans were treated to an impressive display of power on Monday night by 2013 Home Run Derby winner Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland A’s, who was not voted in as an All-Star, but put on an extraordinary display, belting 32 home runs over three rounds. In fact, Cespedes hit so many home runs in the first round (17) that he would not have been required to bat in the second round in order to advance to the final round.

However, not wanting to rob the fans of a show, Yoenis Cespedes stepped into the box in the second round and ripped 6 more home runs, bringing his total to 23 for the first two rounds. Cespedes’s shots were characterized by high, long fly balls that reached deep into the upper deck. He was pitted against Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals in the finals.

Harper, who had his father pitch to him on the night, ripped 16 home runs in the first two rounds, beating out Michael Cuddyer by one home run for the second spot in the finals. Where Cespedes impressed with majestic, towering blasts, Harper wowed the crowd with brute force. Many of Bryce Harper’s home runs on the night were line drives that reached the seats with shocking speed.

In the finals, Harper set the stage batting first and hitting eight home runs, continuing to hit rockets into the crowd in the first, second, and third decks of right field. In many years, eight home runs is a big enough total in the finals to win, but not this year.

Cespedes was simply too impressive the entire night, hitting nine home runs and using only five outs to get there. The winning blast was a moon shot to dead center field that traveled 455 feet.