2011 Home Run Derby: The 10 Best Home Run Derbies Ever
Ryan Howard won the Home Run Derbyย in 2006 and again participated in 2007 and 2009. He's since stayed away because he claims that the derby disrupts his swing.
I'veย continuously heard this from hitters, but my question is...don't MLB players have their own home run derbies in batting practice everyday?
Over the last decade or so, Bud Selig has used All-Star week as a way to showcase the new ballparks around Major League Baseball. As the combatants spray the baseball around to all parts of the yard, the Home Run Derby is a great way to tour all dimensions of the ballpark.
Sammy Sosa hit it to parts unknown in Milwaukee and Atlanta. Josh Hamilton did the same in New York, and Mark McGwireย demolished ballsย in every Home Run Derby he participated in.
My pick for this year's derby...I think David Ortiz goes back-to-back, but I'm very interested to see Jose Bautista.
The only gripes I have is that I would've liked to see Justin Upton and Ichiro get a shot at it.
NOTE: The derbies on this list include ones since 1995, the first year of the multi-round format.
The Worst Home Run Derby Ever
1 of 11Out of all of the ballparks where I wanted to see a Home Run Derby, San Francisco was at the top of my list. I wanted to see which slugger could hit the most balls out andย into McCovey Cove.
There were three lefties in the 2007ย event: Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau. NONE put a single ball into the plethora of kayaks stationed in the Bay.
Vladimir Guerrero saved the competition somewhatย due to aย mammoth shot he hit when he peppered the giant glove in left field.
10. 2003 Home Run Derby
2 of 11I dozed off in this one until Jason Giambi stepped up as the final participant in the first round.
He smacked 12 out. From thereย we saw some of the most exciting semifinal and final rounds in Home Run Derby lore.
Albert Pujols and Jason Giambi went toe to toe in a head-to-head showdown that had everyone on the edge of their seats. Pujols tied Giambi's all-time single-round mark of 14 from 2001.
Even though Giambi had to tie or surpass 14, there was that inkling that he could pull it off. Instead he fell three homers shy at 11.
As Giambi and Pujols captivated the White Sox crowd, Garret Anderson quietly reached the finals.
Anderson routinely hit his home runs in the first or second row of right field. None of his shots went over 430 feet.
He led off the final with nine home runs. Pujols sat atย eight home runs with one out to go. Heย stung one off the top of the wall to give Anderson the win.
| 2003: U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago | ||||
| ย Player, Team | Round I | Semis | Finals | |
| ย Winner: Garret Anderson, ANA | 7 | 6*** | 9 | |
| ย Albert Pujols, STL | 4* | 14** | 8 | |
| ย Jason Giambi, NYY | 12 | 11 | -- | |
| ย Jim Edmonds, STL | 4* | 4 | -- | |
| ย Gary Sheffield, ATL | 4 | -- | -- | |
| ย Carlos Delgado, TOR | 2 | -- | -- | |
| ย Richie Sexson, MIL | 1 | -- | -- | |
| ย Bret Boone, SEA | 0 | -- | -- | |
ย * advanced due to higher season total ย ย **defeated Jason Giambi in the semis ย ย *** defeated Jim Edmonds in the semis
9. 2006 Home Run Derby
3 of 11The 2006 Derby marked the first year of the "carry-over"ย rule.
In the first round, David Wright deposited 16 balls into the seats but hit just two home runs in the semis. His total of 18 was good enough to get him to the finals.
Ryan Howard lived on the edge all night. He needed eight dingers to get past the first round and had just one with four outs remaining. Sitting at four with one out to go, Howard grooved four more out to make the semis.
In the next round, he hit 10 to set up an I-95 showdown between Howard and Wright.
The Big Bear edged Wright 5-4 and punctuated his win by hitting the "Hit It Here" sign, which won someone 500 free flights from Southwest Airlines.
| 2006: PNC Park, Pittsburgh | ||||
| Player, Team | Round I | Semis | Finals | Totals |
| Winner: Ryan Howard, PHI | 8 | 10 | 5 | 23 |
| David Wright, NYM | 16 | 2 | 4 | 22 |
| Miguel Cabrera, FLA | 9 | 6 | -- | 15 |
| David Ortiz, BOS | 10 | 3 | -- | 13 |
| Jermaine Dye, CWS | 7 | -- | -- | 7 |
| Miguel Tejada, BAL | 3 | -- | -- | 3 |
| Lance Berkman, HOU | 3 | -- | -- | 3 |
| Troy Glaus, TOR | 1 | -- | -- | 1 |
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8. 1998 Home Run Derby
4 of 11Ken Griffey Jr. didn't want to be in the 1998 Home Run Derby, but when the fans started to boo him during the AL workout day, he changed his mind.
There was a ton of star power in the event, which included Griffey, Mark McGwire, a young Alex Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Chipper Jones.
Jim Thome made a surprise run towards the finals but was bested by Griffey 3-2.
| 1998: Coors Field, Denver | ||||||
| Player | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Finals | Totals | |
| Winner: Ken Griffey Jr. | Seattle | 8 | 8 | 3 | 19 | |
| Jim Thome | Cleveland | 7 | 8 | 2 | 17 | |
| Vinny Castilla | Colorado | 7 | 5 | -- | 12 | |
| Rafael Palmeiro | Baltimore | 7 | 3 | -- | 10 | |
| Damion Easley | Detroit | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Javy Lopez | Atlanta | 5 | -- | -- | 5 | |
| Moises Alou | Houston | 7 | -- | -- | 7 | |
| Chipper Jones | Atlanta | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | |
| Alex Rodriguez | Seattle | 5 | -- | -- | 5 | |
| Mark McGwire | St. Louis | 4 | -- | -- | 4 | |
7. 2004 Home Run Derby
5 of 11The 2004 Home Run Derby honored the 14 living members of the 500 home run club, three of whom participated in the derby itself: Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds. Ken Griffey Jr, who stood at 501 career long balls, didn't participate due to a hamstring injury.
The two sluggers who wound up in the finals weren't even supposed to be in the competition to begin with. Lance Berkman replaced Griffey, while Jason Giambiย missed the derbyย due to illness, and Miguel Tejada took his place at the last moment.
Houston opened up the roof in the semifinals. Over and over again, Tejada and Berkman sent balls flying past the railroad tracks in left field. Tejada's 15 bombs in the second round were a then-Derby record.
Tejada took out Berkman 5-4 in the final.
| 2004: Minute Maid Park, Houstonย ย | ||||
| ย Player, Team | Round I | Semis | Finals | Totals |
| ย Winner: Miguel Tejada, BAL | 7 | 15 | 5* | 27 |
| ย Lance Berkman, HOU | 7 | 10 | 4 ย | 21 |
| ย Rafael Palmeiro, BAL | 9 | ย 5 | -- | 14 |
| ย Barry Bonds, SFG | 8 | ย 3 | -- | 11 |
| ย Sammy Sosa, CHC | 5 | -- | -- | 5 |
| ย Jim Thome, PHI | 4 | -- | -- | 4 |
| ย Hank Blalock, TEX | 3 | -- | -- | 3 |
| ย David Ortiz, BOS | 3 | -- | -- | 3 |
* Tejada hit the winning homer with five outs remaining in the round
6. 2005 Home Run Derby
6 of 11Going into this derby, I honestly wasn't interested at all. MLB was doingย this all-world derby thingย in an effort to promote the World Baseball Classic.ย
In prior years there was always a big-name star like a Bonds, Sosa, Griffey or even a Giambiโnot this year.ย I mean, Hee-Seop Choi was in this darn thing.
Within the first five minutes of the telecast though, my eyes were glued.ย Bobby Abreu, first to bat,ย had 10 home runs within seconds and still hadย six outs to go!
He finished the round off with 24 deep flies, eclipsing the previous single-round record byย nine home runs. Abreu always had a smooth, sweet swing, but no one knew he had this sort of pop.
Later on in the round, David Ortiz drilled 17 over the wall, which would've been a record an hour prior.
2005 also marked the final year where the slate was wiped clean after the first round. Big Papi's 17 dingers weren't rewarded, as he hit just three in the semis.
Abreu beat hometown catcher Pudge Rodriguez in the finals. Abreu's 41 total home runs are still the most in Derby history.
| 2005: Comerica Park, Detroit | |||||
| ย Player, Team | Round I | Semis | Finals | Totals | |
 | Winner: Bobby Abreu Venezuelaย | 24 | 6 | 11 | 41 |
 | Ivan Rodriguez Puerto Rico | 7 | 8 | 5 | 20 |
 | Carlos Lee Panama | 11 | 4 | -- | 15 |
 | David Ortiz Dominican Republic | 17 | 3 | -- | 20 |
 | Hee-Seop Choi Korea | 5 | -- | -- | 5 |
 | Andruw Jones Netherlands | 5 | -- | -- | 5 |
 | Mark Teixeira United States | 2 | -- | -- | 2 |
 | Jason Bay Canada | 0 | -- | -- | 0 |
5. 2000 Home Run Derby
7 of 11Ken Griffey Jr. headed into the event looking for a three-peat, but it was Sammy Sosa who wowed the crowd.
With Mark McGwire out of the contest, it was Sosa who provided the majestic firepower, hittingย a fewย 500-plus-foot blasts. One went over the center field batter's eye, which was estimated at 508 feet, whileย he hit countless others in the second deck where the Braves' pennants are located.ย
2000 marked the first year where a playoff was instituted in the second round. Essentially the person who hit the most homers in Round 1 squared off with the hitter who stood in fourth place. The second-place batter faced the third-place slugger.
Ken Griffey Jr. advanced to the finals hitting just three home runs, while Carl Everett hit six. Unfortunately, Everett went up against Sosa, who hit 11 in Round 2.
Sosa's 26 total home runs in the competition were more than Griffey and Everett combined.
| 2000: Turner Field, Atlanta | ||||||
| Player | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Totals | |
| Winner: Sammy Sosa | Chicago | 6 | 11 | 9 | 26 | |
| Ken Griffey Jr. | Cincinnati | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 | |
| Carl Everett | Boston | 6 | 6 | -- | 12 | |
| Carlos Delgado | Toronto | 5 | 1 | -- | 6 | |
| Edgar Martinez | Seattle | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Chipper Jones | Atlanta | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Vladimir Guerrero | Montreal | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Ivan Rodriguez | Texas | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | |
4. 2002 Home Run Derby
8 of 11Sammy Sosa put on a fantastic show in 2000, but he topped it with a jaw-dropping performance in 2002.
In the first round he hit 12 jacks, seven measured at 500-plus feet. He boinked one off the slide in center,ย caused damage to theย center field scoreboard and frequently dented the windows.
When they opened the roof in the second round, he hit one out of the park altogether.
Jason Giambi's fine showingย in the 2001 Home Run Derby foreshadowed what was to come in 2002. While he didn't scrape the rafters like Sosa did, he hit 11 in the first round, defeated Paul Konerko in a swing-off in the semis and polished Sammy off 7-1 in the finals.
3. 1999 Home Run Derby
9 of 11Earlier on in my slideshow, I stated that AT&T Park was my favorite ballpark to watch a home run derby. Fenway is my second.
In the first round of the 1999 edition, Mark McGwire hit a then-record 13ย home runsย in a single round. As he relentlessly hit shot after shot over the Green Monster, Boston patrons scrambled for souvenirs like a pack of vultures.
While it was McGwire who awed the fans, it was the consistent Ken Griffey Jr. who won hisย third and final Home Run Derby title over Jeromy Burnitz in the final.
Griffey hit just three dingers in the first round, which was just enough to get him by four participants who hit two. He hit 10 in the semis and three in the final.
The contest marked Sammy Sosa's first; he hit just one. And still to do this day, I have no idea why John Jaha was in this competition.
| 1999: Fenway Park, Boston | ||||||
| Player | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Finals | Totals | |
| Winner: Ken Griffey Jr. | Seattle | 3 | 10 | 3 | 16 | |
| Jeromy Burnitz | Milwaukee | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 | |
| Mark McGwire | St. Louis | 13 | 3 | -- | 16 | |
| Jeff Bagwell | Houston | 5 | 1 | -- | 6 | |
| Larry Walker | Colorado | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Nomar Garciaparra | Boston | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| B.J. Surhoff | Baltimore | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Shawn Green | Toronto | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | |
| Sammy Sosa | Chicago | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | |
| John Jaha | Oakland | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | |
2. 1996 Home Run Derby
10 of 11The 1995 Home Run Derby was the first to use more than one round, but it was the 1996 exhibition that ultimately catapulted the Derby into the prime time marathon it is today.
This contest had star power,ย mesmerizing, toweringย home runs and plenty of drama.
Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds had themselves a little duel.ย Big Macย started off the second round with nineย bombs only to be topped by Bonds' 10. Jay Buhner and Brady Anderson had no shot as they tried to follow the two gladiators.
In the finals, Bonds had one out remaining needing three home runs to claim the crown. Three swings later, Bonds won his first Derby.
| 1996: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia | ||||||
| ย | ||||||
| Player | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Finals | Totals | Longest |
| Brady Anderson | Baltimore | 5 | 6 | -- | 11 | 433 |
| Jay Buhner | Seattle | 6 | 2 | -- | 8 | 426 |
| Joe Carter | Toronto | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | 433 |
| Mark McGwire | Oakland | 4 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 460 |
| Greg Vaughn | Milwaukee | 0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- |
| Jeff Bagwell | Houston | 2 | -- | -- | 2 | 460 |
| Barry Bonds | San Francisco | 4 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 451 |
| Ellis Burks | Colorado | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | 405 |
| Henry Rodriguez | Montreal | 3 | -- | -- | 3 | 437 |
| Gary Sheffield | Florida | 0 | -- | -- | 0 | -- |
1. 2008 Home Run Derby
11 of 11Does anyone even remember the winner of this thing?
On one special night, Josh Hamilton had New York in the palm of his hand.ย Heย WAS the guy everyone had an eye on...everyone knowsย theย story and the obstacles he overcame fighting drug addiction.
In Round 1, Hamilton not only lived up to the hype, but he gave everyone goosebumps as well. He continually hit moonshot after moonshot, totaling an unimaginableย 28 in all. At one point, heย hitย 15 in a row.
Not only was Hamilton's performance the best in Home Run Derby history, it's one of the greatest moments in baseball history.
Oh...Justin Morneau edged out Hamilton in the final 5-3.
| 2008: Yankee Stadium, New York | ||||
| ย Player, Team | Round I | Semis | Finals | Totals |
| Justin Morneau, MIN | 8 | 9 | 5 | 22 |
| Josh Hamilton, TEX | 28 | 4 | 3 | 35 |
| Lance Berkman, HOU | 8 | 6 | -- | 14 |
| Ryan Braun, MIL | 7 | 7 | -- | 14 |
| Dan Uggla, FLA | 6 | -- | -- | 6 |
| Grady Sizemore, CLE | 6 | -- | -- | 6 |
| Chase Utley, PHI | 5 | -- | -- | 5 |
| Evan Longoria, TB | 3 | -- | -- | 3 |
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