Getty Image / Gene Wang
The Royals are quietly having a very good season out in the AL Central, and Bobby Witt Jr. is not-so-quietly having an MVP-type year in Kansas City. To many casual baseball fans, the shortstop announced himself as one of the game’s most exciting players at Monday’s 2024 T-Mobile Home Run Derby.
Witt Jr. put on a show, losing by just inches to Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernandez in a classic home run derby finish that will live on for a long time.
The format changed once again this year, as hitters were given 40 pitches to hit as many home runs as they could in each round. Every homer over 425 feet in the 40 pitches would result in one bonus out for the bonus round, where it went back to the old format of any swing that didn’t result in a home run would be an out.
In the first round, Bobby Witt Jr hit 20 home runs to move on to the second round, where he faced Guardians 3rd baseman Jose Ramirez. There, he out-homered Ramirez, 17-12, setting up a final against Hernandez.
Witt was up second, and he needed 14 homers to tie and 15 to win. With one out left, he had 13 homers, meaning it would all come down to one swing.
And, off the bat, his final swing looked fantastic. But, it fell painstakingly short, hitting the wall, giving the title to Hernandez.
Bobby Witt Jr. was THIS close to tying it pic.twitter.com/R0EAjGnKs4
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 16, 2024
The event was marred by one of the worst renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner anyone can remember. ‘
The 24-year-old had established himself as one of baseball’s best players this year. On the year, Bobby Witt Jr. is slashing .323/.369./.928 with 16 homers, 63 RBI’s, and 22 stolen bases while playing elite shortstop defense. The son of a major leaguer has lived up to his second-overall selection in 2019.