Teoscar Hernandez’s surprising Home Run Derby title, plus favorite All-Star quotes

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As no one would have guessed, Teoscar Hernandez is your new Home Run Derby champion. Ahead of tonight’s All-Star Game (8 p.m. ET, Fox), we have all the details, plus more from the Derby/All-Star media day in Arlington, Texas. I am levi weaverwith here Ken Rosenthal – Welcome to The Windup!

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Home Run Derby: Favorites are out early

They came, we saw, they blasted dingers, teeters, longballs, round-trippers and moon shots.

By the time it was all said and done, 31-year-old Teoscar Hernandez emerged victorious in the Home Run Derby, hitting 14 home runs in the last round to edge out 24-year-old Bobby Witt Jr. The stadium was noisy and echo-y (Maybe we can blame that song on acoustics?)And the atmosphere was… OK, it wasn’t playoff-baseball intense (until the end), but it was still a good time for the 38,578 people who came.

Overview!

• Two-time champion and potential favorite Pete Alonso finished with just 12 home runs in the first round, the second-fewest among the eight first-round competitors, trailing only Gunnar Henderson (11). Joining them with first-round exits are: Marcell Ozuna (16) and hometown favorite Adolis Garcia (18).
• In the second inning, Witt (17) struck out Jose Ramirez (12) while Alec Bohm and Hernandez (14) tied the game with Hernandez going up 2-1 on a swing-off. He could only score 13 in the final round, forcing Witt – who was drafted out of Colleyville Heritage High School, just 10.9 miles north of Globe Life Field – into the final hex of the night. As he drew the crowd within a Did Strong got the playoff, but his final fly ball hit the left-center field wall. By the slimmest of margins, Hernandez was the winner.
• New format: I will favor those who watched on TV, but personally, I think there’s still a little delay, and I think it was the “bonus round” that made it feel that way, At least in the stadium. People got a round of applause after it was over… only to come back for more hacks. I guess if I could make one final change, I would say: no bonus pitches in the first or second round.

All told, it was good – if Very Chaotic day. Chad Jennings has a step-by-step breakdown of Hernandez’s big night with quotes from participants, and Jason Stark explains how Hernandez won.

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Kane’s Notebook: Notes on tonight’s four All-Stars

Paul Skenes. Typically, All-Star Game starters are announced the day before the event, as Corbin Burns was for the American League on Monday. However, MLB made an exception for Skeens.

NL manager Torey Lovullo informed Skane of the honor on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Friday. This way, the league got a chance to increase excitement around the game and eliminate the possibility of news leaks. The Pirates preferred to start Skenes so he could do his normal pregame routine rather than enter as a reliever.

Reynaldo Lopez. The 30-year-old thought he would spend the rest of his career as a reliever, but his wife, Jhilaris, believed he could start again. When Lopez sat down with his agent, Gio Rodriguez, last September, Xilaris attended the meeting and said, “Let’s find a team that will give him a chance to start.”

The Braves were the only team to make such an offer. After Lopez’s teammates voted him an All-Star, Jhilaris told him, “You see? As a reliever you weren’t going to make the All-Star Game.

Luis Erez. The Padres infielder told reporters Sunday that he would miss the game because of a jammed left thumb, but MLB did not replace him on the NL roster. While Arraez will not hit, he is available to play in the field.

This is Arraez’s third consecutive All-Star Game – with a third different team – and he said it will be his most meaningful yet. His father Ernesto, mother Maria and older sister Normalise, who all live in Venezuela, will watch him play as an All-Star for the first time.

Ernesto and Maria did not even see Luis play professionally until they moved to Miami last September. This was his first visit to America, earlier he had difficulty in getting a visa.

jerickson proffer, Going back to Texas for his first All-Star Game makes it even more special. Proffer considers Texas a second home and both his 6-year-old son and 4-month-old daughter were born there. Why Texas for his daughter, considering she now plays for the Padres? Profar and his wife, Rawoika, loved the hospital where their first child was born, and they wanted the same care for their second child.

Considering Profar was signed by the Padres to a one-year, $1 million free-agent contract after the start of spring training, he qualifies as one of the most surprising All-Stars. He was Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect in 2013, but injuries slowed his development. Eleven years later, he would play in his first All-Star Game.

“I always thought I was this player,” Proffer said. “In my mind, I’m an All-Star. And finally, it is showing.”

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Windup in the Wild: Notes from Media Day

It was a crazy day at Globe Life Field yesterday, as local and national media – as well as local media from every MLB market – descended on the park in Arlington, Texas.

The day began with a press conference involving both the manager and One Starting pitcher (Corbin Burns’ wife just had twins, so congratulations to the Burns family!). The lineup was revealed with only two real notable items:

• Each manager has to write his or her second baseman into the lineup. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has named Ketel Marte at forward, while the Rangers’ Bruce Bochy has placed Marcus Semien at ninth. Bochy laughed and said he talked to Semien about it and the second baseman told him, “Well, if you look at the numbers, I’m right there.”
• I’ll leave it to Research Jason Stark and the Department of the Weird and Wild to tell you whether it’s all so strange, but The teammates ranked third and fourth in both teams are: Juan Soto and Aaron Judge for the Yankees on the AL side; Phillies’ Trea Turner and Bryce Harper for the NL.

The league held media availability on the outfield turf, setting up miniature booths for each player. Here are some quotes of interest:

• jerickson proffer As Kane pointed out, 37 is one of the first-time All-Stars. On making his first All-Star Game—and playing in Arlington—where he was once expected to become a franchise player—he said with a laugh: “I’m not that kind of guy emotionally. I’m only emotional when I play baseball. So I am very happy…it is beneficial.”
• eli de la cruz, Paul Skenes on facing AL hitters: “It’s not going to be easy for them… The splitter looks like a sinker. He has good things. There’s not much you can do, you just have to react – be in time for the fastball.” Tyler Kepner spoke to others who agreed.
• I also asked De La Cruz what he’s most looking forward to from his first All-Star Game experience. “I would like to talk to Shohei Ohtani in Japanese… but I don’t speak Japanese.” I don’t know why, but it was the funniest thing I heard yesterday.
• bryce harperOn his hope that MLB players will be able to play baseball in the 2028 Olympics: “I hope so. You want to step up the game, right? Why not push it (the game) to its peak? Growing up, playing Junior Olympics, wearing the colors of the country close to our hearts. There is nothing, no greater feeling than your country’s victory and finally hearing your national anthem. I hope we can do something. Logistically it’s tough, but it would be a lot of fun to bring baseball there and have the best players representing their country there.

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handshake and high five

Day 2 of the draft – Rounds 3-10 – were held yesterday, and Rounds 11-20 will take place today. Here are some more links from our coverage:

Patrick Mooney made a retrospective on the Cubs’ 2014 draft, which included Kyle Schwarber, Justin Steele and Dylan Cease.

There are two weeks left until the trade deadline – here’s a look at who’s trending up, down and sideways as we move forward.

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(Photo: Benny Siu/USA TODAY)