Winners: Teoscar Hernandez and Bobby Witt Jr.
Hernandez won, but both finalists deserve an ovation for the thrilling final round. Hernandez set the bar with 14 home runs, and Witt nearly matched with a deep blast that hit the outfield wall, ending his furious rally.

Loser: Pete Alonso
One of the all-time great Derby competitors, Alonso didn’t bring his A-game to Texas. The two-time Home Run Derby champ (2019, 2021) entered as the favorite this year (+275) but flamed out with the second-lowest home run total of the first round (12).


Winner: Alec Bohm
The biggest long shot entering the contest, Bohm (+1800) exceeded all expectations as he took Hernandez to a swing-off in the semifinals. Bohm, the Phillies first-round pick (third overall) of the 2018 MLB Draft, leads the majors in doubles (33) but only had 11 home runs during the first half of the season. With teammates Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies don’t need Bohm to be a power hitter, but he showed he can hold his own.


Loser: Derby rules
MLB continues to make the Derby more confusing than it needs to be. The league eliminated the bracket-style tournament and reinstated a free-for-all in the first round, which was the only good thing about the format.

Players were given three minutes, or 40 batted balls, to hit home runs, followed by an untimed period with three outs to hit as many long balls as possible. And if a player hit a ball over 425 feet in the untimed period, they received a fourth out.

After that, the top four batters advanced to a bracket-style semifinal, with the top home-run hitter in the first round going against the fourth-place finisher and Nos. 2-3 squaring off in the other semifinal.

While we appreciate MLB for thinking outside the box, we long for the days when players simply had 10 outs to hit as many home runs and whoever hit the most advanced.

Winner: Jose Ramirez
The Guardians third baseman lacked the power the rest of the field possessed, but he made up for it by tying Bohm for the most home runs in the first round. Ramirez previously bowed out in the first round of the 2022 Derby in a head-to-head matchup with Yankees outfielder Juan Soto, and his 17 home runs were the fewest among all derby participants that year. He redeemed himself on Monday.

Loser: Betting odds
Alonso wasn’t the only top contender to struggle. Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who entered with the second-best odds and the most regular-season home runs among this year’s competitors (28), hit 11 home runs, the lowest of the first round.

In fact, of the four semifinalists, three had odds greater than +1000 entering the day, including Hernandez (+1100).

Winner: Bryce Harper
The two-time NL MVP didn’t need to pick up a bat to steal the show. During Bohm’s timeout in the first round, Harper handed him a water — sorry, wooder jug — for hydration.

Harper joined the Phillies in 2019 but knows how to speak like a true Philadelphian, as this video from The Philadelphia Inquirer, titled “How ‘water became ‘wooder’, the evolution of the Philly accent,” explains.

Loser: Ingrid Andress’ “Star-Spangled Banner” rendition
Andress, a 2021 Grammy nominee for Best New Artist, started the evening with a shockingly bad performance of the national anthem. Maybe she should change her name to Francis Off Key.