Yoenis Cespedes Destroys the 2013 Home Run Derby, Celebrates with Epic Bat Flip

“And I’m out!”

Yoenis Cespedes was playing a different game at the 2013 Home Run Derby. His first-round session at the Derby was a clinic in deep-ball destruction, with Cespedes putting 17 balls over the outfield wall. After that, all that was left for the Oakland A’s power hitter to do was clean up whoever was left before him.

The mighty first-round barrage allowed Cespedes to coast through the second round before his showdown with Bryce Harper in the final. 

Harper tried his best, popping some incredibly fast line drives over the outfield walls, but Cespedes would not be denied. The A’s slugger defeated Harper with his 32nd home run of the night. The hit was a 455-foot bomb to deep center field, and Cespedes celebrated with an incredibly B.A. bat flip.

We now have this beautiful GIF of the mighty bat flip, courtesy of SB Nation's Bill Hanstock, so we can commemorate Mr. Big-Swinging and his moment of victory forever. 

Think he knew it was good? Yeah, I’d say so, and the bat flip was his version of dropping the mic. He did everything he came to do, and there was nothing left but drop the bat and accept his award.

The event was Cespedes’ first Home Run Derby, which makes the victory all the more sweet for the 27-year-old native of Cuba. 

“I felt that I was getting into a very good rhythm, and that as long as the ball was right over the plate, I felt like I was in a good groove,” Cespedes said through a translator. “That was the key.”

Indeed, a good groove and some serious power was all Cespedes needed to out-bat the competition, who couldn’t match his power and consistency.

 

Drop the mic, Yoenis. We're done here.

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