This year’s Home Run Derby field was not only star-studded, but also featured an intriguing mix of young superstars and veteran sluggers playing under new rules. After a night of dingers flying through the Texas sky, it was an unlikely champion in Dodgers slugger Teoscar Hernández, who took the Derby crown by defeating young Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. in a thrilling final round. He became the first Dodger to win the title and it was his first time competing in the Derby.
Below you will find an overview of the entire competition, round by round.
Witt HR total: 13
After hitting a total of 37 home runs between the first round and the semifinals, Witt closed out his night by hitting 13 in the final, but finished just one shy of Hernández. On his final swing of bonus time, Witt hit a ball 406 feet into one of the deepest parts of the stadium in center field, which hit the center wall. Had the ball gone over, Witt and Hernández would have gone head-to-head to determine the Derby champion.
LONGEST HR: 457 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 110 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 409 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 102.7 mph
Hernández HR total: 14
Hernández’s timeout — and conversation with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — proved crucial in his final performance, with the slugger at one point hitting five homers in six swings not long after the break. Hernández averaged 430 feet on his 14 homers, including two 449-foot blasts during bonus time. His longest homer, toward the end of regulation, traveled 454 feet.
LONGEST HR: 454 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 111 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 430 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 106.5 mph
(4) Teoscar Hernández takes out (1) Alec Bohm in a swing-off
Wave goodbye: Hernández (2 HR’s), Bohm (1 HR)
Hernández bested Bohm in the first swing-off of the 2024 Derby, as both competitors hit 14 home runs in their respective semifinals. Hernández homered on the last two of his three swings, finishing the match with his longest home run of the round (456 feet). Bohm homered on his second swing but couldn’t clear the fence on his final attempt, eliminating him and sending Hernández to the finals.
Bohm HR total: 14
Bohm hit 21 home runs in the first round and 14 more in the semifinals, tying him with Hernández and sparking a swing-off. Bohm entered the Derby with the fewest home runs (11) of any participant, and his performance was one of the most surprising developments.
LONGEST HR: 431 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 103.0 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 402 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 98.0 mph
Hernández HR total: 14
After hitting 19 homers in the first round, Hernández went deep 14 times in the semifinals. Ten of those came in the second half of regulation, when Hernández came out red-hot after his timeout in the middle, hitting seven homers in a nine-pitch span. The Dodgers slugger found most of his success in left-center field, though several of his homers went to straight left. Hernández added one bonus-time homer.
LONGEST HR: 454 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 109 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 423 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 105.5 mph
Witt HR total: 17
Witt closed regulation on a hot streak, hitting seven home runs on the last 10 pitches he faced. The third seed in the semifinals got into a groove after taking his timeout with 1:40 remaining, and hit 11 homers after that point before the end of regulation. Witt couldn’t add to the game in bonus time, however, making outs on all three swings to finish his semifinal run on 17 homers.
LONGEST HR: 454 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 108 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 407 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 102.6 mph
Ramírez HR total: 12
Ramírez struggled to match his stellar first-round haul of 21 home runs. He had just 11 in regulation time in the semifinals (compared to 15 in the first round) and one in bonus time after hitting six bonus home runs in the previous round. After only one streak of four straight home run-less swings in the first round, Ramírez had a streak of seven home run-less swings and another six-swing drought in the semifinals.
LONGEST HR: 407 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 103.0 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 385 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 97.6 mph
Alec Bohm (reached the semi-finals)
HR total: 21
Bohm settled into a rhythm after a slow start, consistently finding the stands in left and left-center field toward the end of his rotation. The Phillies third baseman homered 10 times on his final 12 pitches before bonus time, including a run of five straight. Bohm picked things up considerably after the first minute — he homered just once on his first seven pitches before he began to find his power swing. Bohm finished regulation with 20 homers and added another in bonus time to finish with 21.
LONGEST HR: 445 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 105 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 407 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 100.7 mph
Bobby Witt Jr. (advanced to the semi-finals)
HR total: 20
Selected to his first All-Star Game and first Derby appearance, Witt struggled to get things going but came through in earnest to finish. After hitting just five home runs in his first time out, the Texas native had 11 homers the rest of regulation, including six of his last nine swings to finish with 16 regulation homers. Witt added four more in bonus time to finish with 20.
LONGEST HR: 442 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 111 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 409 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 105.0 mph
Just as he did in the 2023 postseason, García got hot in the blink of an eye. A few swings after his timeout midway through his round, “El Bombi” hit nine home runs in an 11-pitch span. The hot stretch helped García reach 18 regular homers, but he didn’t hit a single one of his three swings in bonus time.
LONGEST HR: 435 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 106 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 403 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 100.7 mph
Teoscar Hernández (reached the semi-finals)
HR total: 19
Appearing in his second All-Star Game and first Derby, Hernández got off to a hot start by homering four of the first five hits he hit in the first 30 seconds. After calming down for the remainder of regulation, he went on a rampage in the bonus round, hitting six home runs and finishing with a total of 19. Hernández hit six home runs that traveled over 440 feet, including a 466-footer.
LONGEST HR: 466 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 111 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 430 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 105.1 mph
Alonso, the 2019 and 2021 Derby champion seeking his third title, didn’t hit enough homers to finish in the top four and advance to the next round. It was tough for the Polar Bear during his round — he hit five homers before taking his timeout with 1:37 left and only hit four more in the remainder of regulation. Alonso added three more homers in bonus time, but it wasn’t enough to advance.
LONGEST HR: 446 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 109 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 417 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 105.5 mph
José Ramírez (reached the semi-finals)
HR total: 21
After hitting 17 first-round home runs as a right-hander in the 2022 Derby at Dodger Stadium, Ramírez’s decision to hit left-handed this year paid off with 21 first-round home runs. Ramírez has been remarkably consistent, with few extended home run-less spells while hitting home runs between 380-420 feet. Ramírez hit 10 home runs before his time out and deep six in the bonus round.
LONGEST HR: 419 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 107.0 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 398 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 101.2 mph
Ozuna picked things up after taking a timeout with just four homers to his name and 1:40 remaining, homering on six of eight pitches at one point to significantly increase his pace. He outpaced all previous first-round hitters in terms of distance, topping out at a 473-foot blast and averaging 426 feet on his homers. Ozuna crushed 14 homers in regulation time and added two more in bonus time, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the semifinals.
LONGEST HR: 473 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 110 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 426 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 105.1 mph
Gunnar Henderson (eliminated)
HR total: 11
Henderson entered the All-Star break with the third-most home runs (28) in the majors and the most among Derby participants, but struggled outside of a stretch in which he hit four straight homers in regulation time. While the 23-year-old Orioles superstar will have plenty of power in his custom Scooby-Doo-themed bat on Monday, there will be plenty of opportunities for Henderson to redeem himself in a future game.
LONGEST HR: 438 feet
HEAVIEST HR: 106.0 mph
AVERAGE HR DISTANCE: 414 feet
AVG. HR EXIT VELO: 103.5 mph