The most jaw-dropping Home Run Derby performances ever

The Home Run Derby is the one event that baseball still does right. It used to be the night that MLB could print money, but that luster has been lost over the years. Similar to the Slam Dunk Contest in basketball and the Pro Bowl in football, there are a few reasons why the Derby is not the event it once was — but it mostly comes down to the names playing in the game.

That's changed in a big way this year, though. From Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper taking part in front of a home crowd at Citizens Bank Park to Junior Caminero making his Derby debut, we've got a stacked field full of up-and-comers and future Hall of Famers alike. There will be plenty of baseball memories made on Monday night.

Speaking of great moments, let’s go back in time to relive the best moments in the history of the Home Run Derby.

10. 2017 Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge was a rookie in 2017, but he was already becoming one of the biggest stars in baseball. The New York Yankees didn’t understand the full scope of what they had just yet — but after this Derby performance, there was no doubt that he would lead the team into its next era of contention.

Going into the first round, Judge had to beat Justin Bour, who hit 22 homers in front of his home crowd in Miami. With a flare for the dramatic, Judge smashed his 23rd home run as time was expiring, pushing him into the next round.

Judge kept the good times rolling from there, beating future teammate Cody Bellinger in the second round and eventually taking down Miguel Sano in the finals. But it wasn’t just the fact that a rookie future MVP and Yankees superstar won the Derby; it was how he crushed balls that made him a human highlight reel. Judge hit four balls more than 500 feet and more than a dozen balls off the bat with an exit velocity of 115 MPH or higher. We saw the future in 2017, and there were a ton of dingers in Judge’s future. 

9. 2016 Giancarlo Stanton

The only thing that can beat a young Aaron Judge in exit velocity is a healthy Giancarlo Stanton. In the history of the game, Stanton might be the hardest-hitting slugger we've ever seen. Putting that in the Home Run Derby only makes sense, and he did not disappoint during the Midsummer Classic’s pregame show in 2016.

Stanton was going up against one of the league's most spacious stadiums, as Petco Park is considered one of the most pitcher-friendly ballparks anywhere. Stanton could have been playing in stadiums from the 1920s, though, and it wouldn’t have mattered, as he hit a home run on 24 of his first 30 swings.

In the final, he tore down Todd Frazier, who had 20 home runs, to secure the trophy. His best shot registered 120 MPH on the radar gun, and one of them nearly took down the warehouse beyond the left-field fence. Dude could hit the ball a mile, and he showed exactly who he was in 2016.

8. 2002 Sammy Sosa

The Home Run Derby isn’t always about who wins or loses. It’s mostly about moments, opportunities for an athlete to move everyone back and say, “Watch this.” In 2002, Sammy Sosa “won” the Home Run Derby despite not being the guy who stood tall with the trophy at the end. Nobody remembers who won the Derby that year, but everyone remembers Sosa's incredible barrage.

Sosa ran out of gas in the final round, but that's just because he was busy putting on one of the best home run hitting showcases we’ve ever seen early on. Every one of his home runs was a moonshot. One hit Bernie’s slide at Miller Park. Another hit the top of the scoreboard, and more dingers than we can count went out of the stadium entirely.

In all, Sosa hit seven home runs that broke the 500-foot mark. One even went 524 feet, the longest ever recorded. The home run race of 1998 was four years old at this point, but one of the men behind it was still out here making star-studded moments on the diamond. 

7. 2019 Pete Alonso

The 2019 Home Run Derby was the high-water mark of the new, timed format, must-see TV that created multiple stars. That is the power of the Derby in the social-media era: Instead of showcasing the established stars of the league, we get to see the pure power of those who are on the come-up. And on this night, Pete Alonso became a household name. 

Alonso has become one of the greatest Home Run Derby participants in the history of baseball, winning the event twice in his career. Alonso became the second rookie to win the Derby in 2019 after beating Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the finals 23-22. The two battled back and forth and had fans on the edge of their seats.

On the way to the finals, Alonso beat Ronald Acuna Jr. and Carlos Santana, putting up a total of 57 home runs during the event. It’s still one of the great finals in the event’s history, and Alonso needs to be immortalized on any Derby list.

6. 1998 Ken Griffey Jr.

When we think about the Home Run Derby in the 1990s, it’s hard not to think about Ken Griffey Jr. There’s a reason he’s still one of the most popular athletes in the world despite retiring years ago. It’s the backward hat, the sweet swing and just how Griffey carries himself that makes this even more than an event. This was a moment. 

Griffey wasn’t even supposed to be here in 1998. The Mariners played on Sunday Night Baseball, so he was going to take the night off to prepare for the All-Star Game. Instead, he was convinced by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson to participate — and boy, did he participate. So many were waiting for this Derby because it was held at Coors Field, which is basically putting the video game on rookie mode for the strongest sluggers on Earth.

Griffey led all hitters with eight in the first round, then he matched that number in the second round to set up a final showdown with Jim Thome of Cleveland, one of the great home run hitters of all time. Griffey survived him, and won his second Derby title.

5. 2018 Bryce Harper

There’s just something about the hometown star doing the Home Run Derby that makes it special. It’s not like the Derby is solely a local event; people travel from all over North America to enjoy the All-Star Game festivities and maybe snag a souvenir or two. Yet, it also brings out the locals, and those fans show up for their guy — which is exactly what happened for Bryce Harper in 2018.

D.C. fans aren’t always given their just due because of how bad the Nationals have been for a while, but on one summer night in 2018, we were reminded what this fan base can be when they show up. And Bryce Harper showed up for them, authoring one of the greatest comeback stories in the history of the Derby.

In the final round, Harper was trailing future teammate Kyle Schwarber by nine home runs with 50 seconds left. It appeared this one was cooked, but Harper is a different type of athlete. He crushed eight home runs to pull within one, then hit his ninth at the buzzer. Harper ended up hitting the Derby winner in bonus time, causing an eruption in the stadium that could be heard across the Eastern Seaboard. 

4. 1999 Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire saved baseball after the 1994 strike. His pursuit of Roger Maris’s record of 61 home runs in a season alongside Sammy Sosa brought eyes back to baseball that had previously left it behind. Sports like football, basketball and even hockey were gaining ground. Then, with the swing of his bat, McGwire got the audience back by smashing dingers.

And in 1999, he got to do what he does best in front of a national audience. McGwire went crazy in the first round of 1999 at Fenway Park, putting ball after ball over the Green Monster and sending Bostonians rushing through the streets to catch up with a souvenir. 

McGwire finished the first round with 13 home runs, Chris Berman screaming “back-back-back-back-back… goodbye!” over and over again. McGwire didn’t finish the job, as he put all the magic he had into that first round, but he still put up three more home runs in the second round. Griffey Jr. ended up taking home the crown, winning his third Derby of his career.

3. 2008 Josh Hamilton

In 2008, this felt like more than a typical All-Star Game. It felt like closing a chapter in the sport's history as the Midsummer Classic came to Yankee Stadium in its final season. And with the Yankees looking like they were missing the playoffs that year, Josh Hamilton wanted to give the ballpark one more iconic moment in a lifetime full of them.

In the opening round of the Derby, Hamilton hit an eye-popping 28 home runs. The consistency of his swing and the sheer volume of impactful shots felt like watching greatness personified. He had 20 more home runs than anyone in the first round, beating out Justin Morneau and Lance Berkman’s performances.

Now, Hamilton didn’t have much left for the semifinals or the finals, eventually losing to Morneau, but consider the context of the moment. This was a former first-overall pick who seemed to have thrown his career away. This was never supposed to happen. Yet, Hamilton fought back, secured his career and found it in himself to gain the respect of Yankees fans — which is not an insignificant honor. 

2. 2019 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Joc Pederson put forth the greatest battle in the history of this sport. Guerrero started with an insane first round, hitting 29 home runs to run Matt Chapman out of the building. Then, Pederson and Guerrero both hit 29 home runs in the second round, meaning we had to go to a tiebreaker.

The first tiebreaker did not find us a winner, and nor did the second. Finally, Guerrero outlasted the Dodgers star in the third tiebreaker round. He eventually won 40-39, which is an insane score just to see written down. They hit 79 home runs in one round.

Guerrero, still a young pup at the time, showed he could easily live up to his family legacy. Vladimir Guerrero Sr. is one of the most well-liked baseball players of the 90s, but his son was here to become as big a star, or bigger, than his father. In the final round, though, he went up against Alonso, who had another iconic performance. Polar Bear won 23-22, ending possibly the greatest Home Run Derby of all time. 

1. 2005 Bobby Abreu

This was one of the last great performances under the previous format, and it just might be the best. Bobby Abreu found his own star-making performance in 2005, putting up the most memorable moment in his long MLB career. With the World Baseball Classic coming up the next spring, all the hitters represented their country, which means Abreu got to wear Venezuela’s colors proudly. 

He set records at the time by crushing 24 home runs in a single round and 41 total home runs across all three. We thought we’d seen it all in the Derby, but Abreu went on a heater unlike anything we’d experienced before. His 41 home runs traveled more than 17,000 feet. 

Abreu came into the Derby as one of the league’s most underrated stars, as Philadelphia just didn’t have the spotlight on it in the early 2000s. Baseball seemed like the fourth of the four major sports, but Abreu got to, at least for this moment, put the spotlight on him and his career with the Phillies. 

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