Teoscar Hernandez wins 2024 Home Run Derby by inches

Kyle Madson

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Teoscar Hernandez wins 2024 Home Run Derby by inches image

Teoscar Hernandez did it! 

Hernandez became the first Dodgers player to win the Home Run Derby, just edging out Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

It came down to the wire, though. Hernandez finished with 14 home runs, and Witt Jr. had 13 down to his final swing. Witt drove a shot to center field, but the ball caromed off the wall, giving Hernandez the championship. 

Monday night was an evening full of close calls for Hernandez. He snuck into the semifinal by one home run, and then got into the final on a swing-off where he beat out Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm by one home run. Then in the final round he narrowly beat Witt by one. 

This was an event Hernandez had been wanting to do according to the ESPN broadcast. He wasn't a participant when he made the All-Star game in 2021, and he was the final entrant in this year's derby, so seeing him put on a show at Globe Life Field was especially thrilling. 

Kyle Madson

Kyle Madson Photo

Kyle Madson neither likes writing about himself nor writing in the third person. Nevertheless, he persists. While Kyle has spent most of his writing career covering the NFL’s Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers, he’s never lost the love of baseball that has resided in the deepest recesses of his soul since he began playing T-ball at 4 years old (no matter how hard John Fisher has tried). Aside from writing, Kyle also hosts a radio show, the Insiders, with James Ham on ESPN 1320 in Sacramento. When he’s not being a sports dork, Kyle loves being a normal dork and traveling, visiting museums, diving further into K-Pop fandom (#SKZ) and hanging out with his wife and cats. Don’t follow him on Twitter or Instagram at @KyleAMadson.