Pete Alonso defends Home Run Derby title

07/12/2021

pete alonso home run derby — Courtesy Twitter @Mets

Despite being the No. 5 seed in the 2021 Home Run Derby, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso maintains his champion title.

Heading into the 2021 Home Run Derby, Shohei Ohtani and Matt Olson were the fan favorites. With some of the hardest hits and home runs in baseball from either, it was for good reason.

Yet, Pete Alonso meant business in defending his title. He ended up doing just that and put on a show in the process.

Round one was electric for the New York Met; he crushed 35 homers out of the park, dancing in between each timeout and break.

When you know…You know! #PeteAlonso ? pic.twitter.com/t5Gimhe2oL

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 13, 2021

The Mets first baseman was living life to the fullest

Salvador Perez made an effort to challenge Alonso but couldn’t close the gap at 28 home runs.

In the semifinals, Pete beat Juan Soto, hitting 16 bombs on 23 pitches with still more than a minute left on the timer.

Alonso took a break to merely hype up the crowd, denying the need for water as he did.

Trey Mancini is an inspiration as a person and an athlete who defeated cancer in 2020. He tried to give Pete a run for his money with 22 homers, but Alonso could not be stopped.

The Polar Bear commenced the finals with a few quick bombs, getting his bonus time quickly with seven consecutive balls crushed out of the park.

Having the time of his life, Pete went into his break with 12 homers and 36 seconds on the clock before the bonus.

The Polar Bear’s goal was to connect with the scoreboard — he achieved that

Pete Alonso defended his title, winning his second straight Home Run Derby with 23 bombs and time left on the clock.

He becomes just the third player in MLB history to win the Home Run Derby back-to-back — Ken Griffey Jr. and Yoenis Cespedes are the others.

Ok. Time to go to work. #PeteAlonso pic.twitter.com/Z6DQz7wxCI

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 13, 2021

Takeaways

Alonso did an amazing job at pulling the ball and placing it right where he needed it.

Something that helped him was having a great pitcher that placed the balls in the right spots.

The Polar Bear was also pickier this time around, taking more balls and mainly hitting the ones he knew he could smack over the fence.

Hopefully, the energy and swag Alonso possessed heading into the Derby will help him back on the field — the first baseman experienced a slow first half of the season, having spent much of it injured.

This should be a major spirit lifter for a Mets team that’s undergone a pretty bumpy season despite maintaining its first-place status in the National League East.