On Monday night, Cincinnati Reds star Todd Frazier mesmerized the hometown fans at Great American Ball Park and the baseball world. Frazier put on a stunning display of clutch slugging to win the revamped 2015 Home Run Derby. What’s even better, he did it with his brother Charlie tossing to him. Fox Sports Ohio captured this image of the Frazier brothers:
Frazier bested Los Angeles Dodgers long-ball prodigy Joc Pederson in the final by the score of 15-14. Here’s a look at Frazier’s round-by-round totals and that of his opponents:
Pushing Past Prince
The first round was a close call for Frazier. Texas Rangers behemoth and two-time champion Prince Fielder put up 13 long balls in a solid performance. Frazier took to the batters box and struggled to find his home run stroke at first.
Just when it was beginning to look as if Frazier would fizzle out in front of the home crowd, he went on a run that saw him tied with Fielder late in the bonus round. With seconds ticking away, Frazier crushed the walk-off home run to inch past the Rangers star into the second round.
Jousting with Josh
Frazier would again need to rally in the second round past Toronto Blue Jays slugger Josh Donaldson. Frazier seemed to be able to rise to the occasion to summon just enough energy from the crowd to knock off his opponents.
Like he had against Fielder and as he would against Pederson in the final round, Frazier inched by Donaldson by one homer, with the final shot coming in the final seconds.
Taming Young Joc
When Pederson‘s round was done, per the ESPN broadcast, he said, at least if Frazier wins, “I made him work for it.” That was certainly the case, as the 23-year-old slugger tied Frazier’s opening round of 14 for the best frame in the contest. At one point, Pederson slugged six straight into the sea of Reds fans to make Frazier’s task look daunting.
Frazier again started slow but caught fire just in time to head into the bonus stage with 14. He didn’t waste time clinching the victory. He clocked his event-winning 15th on his first swing, and the crowd went wild.
Take a look at Frazier’s triumphant moment, per MLB on Twitter:
The New Format is Awesome
In case you aren’t hip to the new HR Derby format and you’re wondering what’s with the head-to-head-matchup talk, Major League Baseball decided to redo the structure of the contest for this year’s event. The 2015 Derby featured tournament-style brackets, timed rounds, 30 seconds of bonus time and a timeout per round for the hitters.
It all worked beautifully. ESPN First Take’s Skip Bayless and ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark were complimentary of the format and Frazier:
There was drama, competition and a sense of urgency. It’s really hard to imagine how it could be done any better.
What About Next Year?
You know an event was a success when you’re already thinking about next year just hours after the most recent exhibition has wrapped up.
Pederson looks like a natural for the event, and you have to think he’ll be one of the favorites if he’s healthy and chooses to participate. The All-Star festivities will be held at Petco Park in San Diego, California, in 2016. Perhaps San Diego Padres prospect Yeison Asencio will be with the club and flourishing or current home run leader Justin Upton will take his swings.
After seeing the support Frazier got from the crowd, it would seem every hometown star would want a piece of that energy.
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