Home Run Derby: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. edges Randy Arozarena; Dodgers’ Mookie Betts struggles

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer

SEATTLE — Of course a Junior had to do something special in Seattle.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night, matching Vladimir Sr.’s 2007 title to become the first father-son duo to accomplish the feat.

As far as who might win a head-to-head swing-off, well, that depends.

“It’s kind of difficult right now,” the Toronto Blue Jays star said with a wide grin, speaking through a translator. “With the time, with the minutes, I’ll win. If it’s by outs, he’ll win.”

In a ballpark made famous by the Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. a generation earlier, Guerrero beat Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena 25-23 in the final round. He was 8 years old when his father won the crown in San Francisco.

“I don’t remember much about 2007,” Vladimir Jr. said. “I guess I was too young.”

On a night when Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez had the home crowd on its feet during his electric opening round and Dodgers star Mookie Betts proved his prediction that he had no chance, Guerrero totaled 5½ miles of homers – 29,390 feet to be exact. He defeated Rodríguez 21-20 in the semifinals after the Mariners star hit a record 41 in the first round in front of his hometown fans.

“I wanted to live in the moment,” Rodriguez said. “Kind of be able to give a show to the Mariners fans and just give it my all. For that second round, I was just (exhales) … but it was fun. It was fun.”

Batting against Blue Jays manager John Schneider, Guerrero was the last semifinalist to swing and the first finalist, setting a final round record for homers to top the mark Pete Alonso set when he beat Guerrero 23-22 in 2019.

With Guerrero Jr. catching his breath while watching, Arozarena hit against Tampa Bay field coordinator Tomas Francisco. Arozarena had 21 homers in his initial 2 minutes. He had 23 with 7 seconds left in his automatic 30 seconds of bonus time before hitting a line drive and a pop-up on his final four swings.

Guerrero had 1 minute of bonus time, earning an additional 30 seconds because he twice reached 440 feet.

“Obviously, the power that he has was incredible,” Arozarena said through a translator. “For me, I felt good going into that round. But also he was able to get a minute of bonus time. I only had the 30 seconds of bonus time.”

Vladimir Guerrero Sr. won the 2007 derby while with the Angels, beating the Blue Jays’ Alex Rios 3-2 in the final.

Arozarena had the most overall homers over the three rounds, 82 to Guerrero’s 72, and the most distance at 33,077 feet. Arozarena overcame Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox 35-22 in the semifinals. Robert hit the longest drive of the night, a 484-foot shot to left in the second round. That topped the high of 476 feet by Barry Bonds in the 2001 derby in Seattle.

Trying to become the youngest Derby winner at age 22, Rodríguez knocked out Alonso, a two-time champion who hit 21. Rodríguez beat Corey Seager 32-24 in the first round last year at Dodger Stadium, then knocked out Alonso 31-23 before losing to Juan Soto 19-18 in the final.

Arozarena beat Texas’ Adolis García 24-17 in the opening pairing before a crowd of 46,952 at T-Mobile Park. García is the godfather to Arozarena’s daughter, and the two jumped into each other’s arms during warmups.

Robert knocked out Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman 28-27 in the opening round. Rutschman hit 21 left-handed, and the switch hitter then turned around to the right side and hit six more right-handed during a 30-second bonus round. From Portland, Oregon, Rutschman grew up attending Mariners games.

Betts spent most of the past two weeks downplaying his chances in the event, and he was prophetic.

Betts, whose 26 home runs this season is tied for the third-most in the majors at the All-Star break, had cautioned that he has never been much of a home run hitter in batting practice-style settings.

Guerrero hit 26 home runs to begin their first-round matchup, batting before Betts. The 5-foot-9 Betts hit 11 in the initial three minutes of his round, then none during the 30-second bonus to end his night.

“You’ve gotta pull the ball, you gotta hit in the air to the left. Do not go to center,” Dodgers teammate J.D. Martinez told Betts during his round.

“I don’t know how!” Betts responded.

Betts’ total was the lowest of the eight participants.

Guerrero was participating for the first time in four years. Four years ago at Cleveland, Guerrero hit 29 in the first round and 40 in the second, then lost to Alonso in the final.

Alonso was trying for his third title in four years. Griffey Jr. is the only three-time winner, taking the title in 1994, ’98 and ’99.

“I thought I put on a good show and just unfortunately, ran into a buzzsaw,” said Alonso, who hit 22 home runs to Rodriguez’s 41. “He had a ridiculously historic round. I mean, that was incredible to watch. Good for him and good for Seattle.”

Added Guerrero, a fellow native of the Dominican Republic: “I knew he was going to do that. We talked before, and you could tell that he really wanted to win. I mean, he put a lot of work into this. But, you know, it happened.”

Guerrero Sr. was a nine-time All-Star but never won a World Series. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Guerrero Jr., who said he participated in the Derby because his family urged him to do so, is a three-time All-Star and was MVP of the game two years ago in Denver. What’s in the future? A World Series ring? Joining his dad in the Hall?

“I’m a little bit too young to think about that right now,” he said. “When I get there, then I’ll think about it, I’ll see if I match my dad or was better than my dad or not.”

HARD TO WIN AT HOME

Only three players have won the title at home: the Chicago Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg in 1990, Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier in 2015 and Washington’s Bryce Harper in 2018.