The spectators at the National Park of Washington/D.C. wanted to see their superstar win the MLB Homerun Derby 2018 and Bryce Harper from the Washington Nationals delivered. After effortlessly surviving the first two rounds, the outfielder made it really exciting in the final. It wasn’t until his last swing that he trumped Kyle Schwarber of the Chicago Cubs.
In front of a full house, the eight participants gave a spectacular performance in the American capital. The audience was visibly enthusiastic, and not only at Harper’s performances, who competed with a bat in stars-and-stripes design, patriotic shoes and a red and white headband.
Remarkable: only one of the seven duels was decided with more than one home run difference. So the competition was exciting almost at all times.
The evening started with a first upset. Phillies-Outfielder Hoskins started leisurely, but after a short timeout he turned on the clock with 2:05 minutes and finally came up with 17 home runs. His longest shot was over 463 feet. However, it was the only one over 440 feet, which denied him the 30-second time bonus.
But he didn’t need the same, because the top seeded Aguilar started his homerun hunt directly with a shot on the first swing, but in the end he lacked the necessary pace to seriously endanger his challenger. The Brewers-First baseman was ultimately just too slow and didn’t beat a Homer over 440 feet.
The second duel of the evening was far more dramatic: Schwarber hammered a few really long home runs and even hit the third floor of the grandstand in Right Field once. He had no problems to be the first in the competition to secure the 30 seconds extra. In the end there were 16 home runs and thus an official model for World Series winner Bregman.
The third baseman of the Astros also started like the fire brigade and hit a home run with the first swing. With less than a minute on the clock he got closer and closer and beat his 15th home run under the cheers of the spectators with almost 20 seconds. His last swing flew far, but the ball only crashed against the wall in Left Field. Blacker with it paper-thin.
Clear deal in the duel between the Dodgers and Cubs. Chicago’s Baez got off to a good start and started quite confidently in his lap. He hit 16 strong home runs and put the Los Angeles shooting star well under pressure.
But Muncy wasn’t really impressed. On the contrary, he was hammering one bomb at a time. It was clear early on that he would pass Baez without any trouble. And that’s what he did: with 32 seconds on the clock, number 17 entered the stands in the right field for a decision.
For Freddie Freeman, the ultimate line-drive hitter, it was clear from the outset that this would not be an easy task. He was booed directly once – not necessarily surprising as star of the Atlanta Braves in enemy territory – but fought bravely. His balls didn’t fly very low, but at least he came up with twelve long balls.
Afterwards it got really loud in the Nationals Park. Superstar and local hero Bryce Harper entered his stage and hit one bomb after the other. His last swing was over 467 feet. So he had no problems to get the 30 seconds extra. But he didn’t need them at all. 28 seconds before the end of the regular four minutes was already over. The star reached the semi-finals with confidence.
In the first semi-final I really got to the point. Hoskins made the beginning and showed already early good speed with his compact swing. Also the length was right and so he had 20 home runs – most of them up to that point in the competition.
No easy task for Schwarber, who also started rather slowly. Early on it was clear that he only had a chance if he could secure the 30 seconds extra, which he finally managed with a few really long home runs, partly on the third floor in Right Field. But then the Cubs-Outfielder turned up the volume again and came to an equaliser within the four minutes. And then this: With his last swing with his clock running out, he hit another monster shot and crowned his performance with an epic Bat Flip.
Schwarber didn’t need the extra 30 seconds and was the first to reach the final.
The second semi-final was again much less dramatic. Muncy did what he could, but you could tell that on his second appearance he lacked a little rhythm and eventually ran out of breath. As a result, he didn’t get past twelve home runs.
A lack of rhythm was also a short-term problem for Harper. Within the first two minutes the national outfielder had to fight, but suddenly it clicked and Harper had his groove back. Then followed one laser shot after the other, so that he finally took a short break with ten home runs and 1:38 minutes on the clock – he had the bonus time in his pocket long ago. Afterwards he made three more home runs on the stands in Right Field and reached the final easily with over a minute on the clock.
In the final, Schwarber presented a real firework display. Of his 18 home runs, six flew over 440 feet, his longest landed after 453 feet. In the bonus round, however, he only managed one long ball, which held the door open for Harper.
And Harper climbed through it in an impressive way. At first he didn’t get a kick at all and ran the risk of having to bury all his hopes early on. With only 1:20 minutes left on the clock – and the 30 seconds on top as a bonus – the Nationals star found his momentum and made it out one by one. With his watch running out, he evened out by beating 18th. In the bonus time it was the second swing that bagged the victory.
National Park was in ecstasy and Harper celebrated his triumph directly with a two-handed Bat Flip before jumping into the arms of his fathers who gave the pitcher.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.