Winning the Home Run Derby will always be special. Doing it in front of your home fans? Legendary.
Capturing a Derby crown in one’s home ballpark is a rare feat — it’s only happened three times since the first Derby in 1985. That said, though, four players have won the Derby in the state of their birth:
2016: Giancarlo Stanton, Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
1994: Ken Griffey Jr., Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pa.
1992: Mark McGwire, Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
1989: Eric Davis, Angel Stadium, Anaheim, Calif.
Here are the players who became hometown heroes in the Home Run Derby.
2018: Bryce Harper, Nationals
Harper orchestrated one of the greatest Derby comebacks ever to beat current Phillies teammate Kyle Schwarber for the 2018 Derby title at Nationals Park. Down 18-9 in the last minute of the final round, Harper crushed nine homers in 55 seconds, pulling even with Schwarber on his final swing of regulation time. Thanks to a 30-second bonus for hitting two homers of 440-plus feet, Harper went deep to dead center on his second swing of extra time to edge Schwarber for the title. Then in his final season with the Nationals, Harper beat Freddie Freeman in the opening round and Max Muncy in the semifinals before taking down Schwarber, who was then with the Cubs. 2018 was the first time the Nats hosted All-Star festivities.
The 2015 Derby looked a lot different than the ones before it. For the first time, hitters faced off in a single-elimination bracket, and each round was timed rather than limited by a number of “outs.” And due to bad weather in Cincinnati, the five-minute time limit was shortened to four minutes. But Frazier weathered the storm to win the Derby crown at Great American Ball Park. He took down Prince Fielder in bonus time in the first round, then beat Josh Donaldson with a 444-foot blast as his initial time ran out. And despite 10 straight homerless swings in the finals against Joc Pederson — then a rookie — Frazier got hot at the end. He earned a 30-second bonus by virtue of hitting two homers of 425-plus feet; on the first swing of bonus time, Frazier hit a line-drive homer to left and celebrated his win in front of the Reds faithful.
The 1990 Derby wasn’t exactly a power-hitting display. Sure, the field featured such names as Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jose Canseco, but little power was on display on a windy day at Wrigley Field. The eight contestants — given two “innings” to hit as many homers as possible before reaching five “outs” — COMBINED for a total of five home runs. McGwire hit one, as did the Giants’ Matt Williams. Sandberg hit three homers to become the Derby champion in his own ballpark. It was the lowest home run total in the event’s 38-year history. The following year, MLB changed the format, instituting three rounds of 10 outs each.
