Dumper’s Delight: Cal Raleigh Becomes First Catcher To Win Home Run Derby

2 days ago

Seattle’s Cal Raleigh won his first All-Star Home Run Derby aft starring nan large leagues successful agelong balls going into nan break, defeating Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 successful nan last information connected Monday night.

The Mariners slugger, nicknamed Big Dumper, precocious from nan first information connected a tiebreaker by little than an inch complete nan Athletics’ Brent Rooker, past won his semi-final 19-13 complete Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whose 513ft first-round thrust complete Truist Park’s right-center section seats was nan longest of nan night.

Hitting 2nd successful nan last round, nan 22-year-old Caminero closed wrong 3 dingers, took 3 pitches and deed a liner to near field.

Raleigh is nan first switch-hitter and first catcher to triumph nan title. He had reached nan All-Star break pinch a awesome league-leading 38 location runs. He became nan 2nd Mariners subordinate to return nan title aft three-time victor Ken Griffey Jr.

Raleigh was sounded to by his father, Todd, erstwhile coach of Tennessee and Western Carolina. His younger relative Todd Raleigh Jr did nan catching.

Just nan 2nd Derby switch-hitter aft Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman successful 2023, Raleigh deed his first 8 left-handed, took a timeout, past deed 7 right-handed. Going backmost to lefty, he past deed 2 much successful nan prize information and stayed lefty for nan semi-finals and nan final. Caminero hit Minnesota’s Byron Buxton 8-7 successful nan different semi-final. Atlanta’s Matt Olson, Washington’s James Wood, nan New York Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr and Rooker were eliminated successful nan first round.

Cruz and Caminero each deed 21 agelong balls and Buxton had 20 successful nan opening round. Raleigh and Rooker had 17 apiece, but Raleigh precocious connected nan tiebreaker of their longest homer, 470.61ft to 470.53. Cruz’s agelong thrust was nan hardest-hit astatine 118 mph.

The longest derby homer since Statcast started search successful 2016 was 520ft by Juan Soto successful nan mile-high aerial of Denver’s Coors Field successful 2021.

Wood deed 16 homers, including a 486ft changeable and 1 that landed connected nan tile of nan Chop House down nan right-field wall. Olson, disappointing his hometown fans, did not spell heavy connected his first 9 swings and vanished pinch 15, He besides was eliminated successful nan first information successful 2021. Chisholm deed conscionable 3 homers, nan fewest since nan timer format started successful 2015.

Raleigh won $1m arsenic good arsenic nan title. Caminero astir doubled his net of $764,100 by taking location $500,000 arsenic runner-up.