By Rockin’ Reese
In 2007, (Los Angeles Angels right fielder) Vladimir Guerrero was at AT&T Park (now known as Oracle Park) in San Francisco, CA for MLB All-Star week. With only 14 home runs going into the all-star break, he was a considerable underdog going into the Home Run Derby, especially since that was the 2nd fewest amount of homers among Derby participants (next to [Detroit Tigers right fielder] Magglio Ordóñez, who had 13).
Also adding to that underdog status, were some of his opponents. (Milwaukee Brewers 1st baseman) Prince Fielder had a MLB-high 27 homers going into the All-Star break. (Philadelphia Phillies 1st baseman) Ryan Howard was the 2006 Derby winner. (Minnesota Twins 1st baseman) Justin Morneau hit 4 home runs on All-Star weekend. Despite the odds, Guerrero would swing 14 home runs & earn his way to the finals of the Derby, where he would compete against (Toronto Blue Jays right fielder) Alex Ríos, who had 17 homers.
Ríos would bat first, but would only have 2 homers in the final round. With 3 outs to spare, Guerrero would hit the 3rd homer he would need to win the 2007 Derby championship.
Last Monday, (Blue Jays 1st baseman) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went to T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA and followed in his father’s footsteps. Vlad Jr. only had 13 home runs going into the all-star break, which was 2nd fewest going into the Derby (next to [Baltimore Orioles catcher] Adley Rutschman, who had 11).
His field was just as dangerous as his father’s was, 16 years earlier. (Chicago White Sox center fielder) Luis Robert Jr. had 26 homers, the most of any Derby participant. (New York Mets 1st baseman) Pete Alonso was a 2-time Derby winner, winning in 2019 & 2021. (Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder) Mookie Betts hit 3 home runs on All-Star weekend, to bring his total to 26.
In the quarter-finals, Guerrero would compete against Betts. Vlad Jr. would bat first, hitting 11 home runs in the first 1 minute & 29 seconds of his regulation 3 minutes. He would increase his bonus time from 30 seconds to 60 seconds, after launching 2 home runs that went a minimum of 440 feet.
Vlad Jr. would finish the regulation period with 17 homers. then hit 9 more in bonus time to bring his total to 26. Betts would hit 11 homers in 2 minutes & 44 seconds and went the entire regulation period without using his timeout. However, he didn’t hit far enough to increase his bonus time & he failed to hit a home run in bonus time, which meant Guerrero would advance to the next round.
In the semi-finals, Vlad Jr. would compete against (Seattle Mariners center fielder) Julio Rodríguez. J-Rod set a Derby record in the quarter-finals, by hitting 41 home runs, the most in any Derby round. With the home crowd behind him, Rodríguez was looking to dazzle them, even more.
He would hit 10 home runs in the first 1 minute & 28 seconds, then add 8 more to end regulation. Unlike his quarter-final at bat, J-Rod failed to increase his bonus time. With only 30 seconds, he would hit just 2 home runs to bring his total to 20. Now it was to Guerrero’s turn. Vlad Jr. would hit 10 home runs in 1 minute & 18 seconds, then add 10 more to end regulation. Even though Guerrero had 60 seconds of bonus time, he would only need 16 to hit the 1 homer he needed to advance to the finals.
In the finals, it would be Guerrero against (Tampa Bay Rays left fielder) Randy Arozarena. Vlad Jr. had been to a Derby finals in 2019, while Arozarena was trying to win his Derby debut. Guerrero would bat first, hitting 6 home runs in the first 47 seconds. He would hit 14 more homers & increase his bonus time, before the 2-minute regulation period expired.
With his 60 seconds of bonus time, Guerrero would hit 5 home runs to bring his total to 25. Arozarena hit 8 home runs in the first 59 seconds, before adding 13 more at the end of regulation. Just like Betts in the quarter-finals & Rodríguez in the semi-finals, Arozarena failed to increase his bonus time. He needed 4 to tie or 5 to win, but he would only hit 2 to bring his total to 23.
When it comes to making MLB history, Vladimir & Vladimir Jr. love to knock it out of the park. The Guerreros are one of 3 father-son duos to hit a home run in a MLB All-Star Game (Bobby & Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey & Ken Griffey Jr. are the other duos).
They are one of 2 duos to have 40+ home runs in a season (the other duo being Cecil & Prince Fielder). However, Vlad & Vlad Jr. are the only duo to win a Home Run Derby. It’s only a matter of time before they share another father-son moment…joining Larry & Lee MacPhail as the only father-son duos in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
