Home Run Derby: 5 best performances of all time

By Brad Weiss | Jul 9, 2016

Jul 13, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; General view of the video board as the home run derby participants stand for the National Anthem prior to the 2015 Home Run Derby the day before the MLB All Star Game at Great American Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

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12 Jul 1999: Mark McGwire #25 of the National League Team hits the ball during the 1999 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr /Allsport /

5. 1999: Mark McGwire, Fenway Park

In 1999, Mark McGwire was coming off of his historic 70-home run season for the St. Louis Cardinals. The season before, McGwire shattered the single-season home run record held by Roger Maris, who blasted 61 home runs for the New York Yankees in an MVP season.

Throughout the 1998 season, he and Sammy Sosa made the home run the most exciting feat in sports, giving the home run derby excitement heading into the event. McGwire had all eyes on him as he strode to the plate at Fenway Park, and he did not disappoint.

His derby performance would really put the event on the map. Though televised as a same-day broadcast by ESPN from 1993-1997, the derby would become a live telecast in 1998. One year later, McGwire made sure the Home Run Derby would be must-see TV from there on out.

The slugger wasted no time, blasting 13 first round home runs, which was more than twice the amount any of his competition hit. In total, his home runs traveled an incredible 5,692 feet, including a 488-foot blast over the Green Monster.

McGwire would hit only three home runs in the second round in the event, which was won by future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., but his mark on the event stands today.

Next: 4. 2010: David Ortiz, Angel Stadium of Anaheim

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