2015 Home Run Derby Results: Winner, Highlights and Twitter Reaction

Eight of Major League Baseball's best sluggers took center stage at Great American Ball Park on Monday, but it was Cincinnati Reds slugger Todd Frazier who came out on top over Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson in the new-and-improved Home Run Derby. 

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Frazier's win in front of his home crowd put him in some exclusive company:

The new format, which featured timed four-minute rounds, added extra drama to the proceedings because it gave players more of a sense of urgency.

Results

First-Round Matchup	Winner	Loser	Score
Semifinals	Winner	Loser	Score
Finals	Winner	Loser	Score
Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays) vs. Anthony Rizzo (Cubs)	Josh Donaldson	Anthony Rizzo	9-8
Todd Frazier (Reds) vs. Prince Fielder (Rangers)	Todd Frazier	Prince Fielder	14-13
Manny Machado (Orioles) vs. Joc Pederson (Dodgers)	Joc Pederson	Manny Machado	13-12
Albert Pujols (Angels) vs. Kris Bryant (Cubs)	Albert Pujols	Kris Bryant	10-9
Josh Donaldson vs. Todd Frazier	Todd Frazier	Josh Donaldson	10-9
Joc Pederson vs. Albert Pujols	Joc Pederson	Albert Pujols	12-11
Joc Pederson vs. Todd Frazier	Todd Frazier	Joc Pederson	15-14

Reaction

Even though it was the second matchup of the night, Frazier vs. Prince Fielder is when the excitement started. 

Fielder, a two-time Home Run Derby champion, looked poised to advance after blasting 13 home runs, and he set a new record along the way, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Things continued to look bleak for Frazier when his round got started, but that turned around in a hurry, as noted by ESPN's Jayson Stark:

This was a show between two of baseball's best power hitters, helped by the fact that Frazier was doing it in front of his hometown crowd in Cincinnati. It made the best case for the new timed head-to-head format. 

Not to be outdone in the first round, Manny Machado and Joc Pederson nearly equaled them by hitting 25 homers combined. 

Pederson, who finished one blast away from tying the NL rookie record for homers before the All-Star break, hit 13 and made up for a lot of past struggles by Los Angeles Dodgers in this event, per author Molly Knight:

Oh, Pederson also did this to a baseball, via MLB.com:

That's not a bad way to introduce yourself on the national stage. Long homers are nothing new for the 23-year-old, who leads all hitters in true home run distance this year at 430.5 feet.

The semifinals echoed the first round for Frazier, though he only had to hit 10 this time to advance past Donaldson. He got to that mark with less than 20 seconds to go. 

Cincinnati's favorite son then got paired with Pederson after Albert Pujols was unable to match the 12 home runs hit by the Dodgers phenom. It seemed only fitting for the finale because Frazier and Pederson were the two most impressive hitters from the beginning. 

Sports Illustrated's Ryan Krasnoo tweeted this interesting fact about Pederson and Pujols:

Pederson remained on top of his game after all of those swings in the first two rounds, blasting 14 more in the finals to put pressure on Frazier. He had already overcome a 13-homer deficit, so what's one additional blast?

Despite the big advantage, Pederson certainly wasn't sitting pretty after his superb round, as he showed while speaking to ESPN's Nicole Briscoe on the telecast (via Stark):

It turns out Pederson was right to be anxious, because Frazier went on another home run barrage to tie the score at 14 at the end of his first four minutes. The star of the evening wasted no time by hitting a walk-off on the first pitch in bonus time. 

Frazier's win was the perfect capper to an outstanding night for baseball. The new layout brought new life to proceedings that had been missing something for so long and shortened an event that tended to drag on for three-plus hours. 

This year proved that big leaguers can provide a lot of fan entertainment and hit a ton of home runs in a beat-the-clock scenario.

Now, these eight hitters have to rest up and prepare for Tuesday's All-Star Game, when they will face MLB pitching. Don't expect to see quite as many balls flying out of the park in that matchup.