Alonso bests Mancini, Ohtani for 2nd straight HR Derby title

© Provided by Associated Press National League’s Pete Alonso, of the New York Mets, reacts during the second round of the MLB All Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

DENVER (AP) — Pete Alonso danced to his second straight Home Run Derby title, besting Shohei Ohtani, Trey Mancini and Juan Soto on a night of record long balls in the thin Rocky Mountain air of Coors Field.

The New York Mets first baseman hit 74 total home runs and beat Mancini 23-22 in the final round Monday, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Céspedes (2013-14) in winning consecutive titles.

Batting second, Alonso trailed 22-17 after the first two minutes of the final round, then hit six homers on six swings over the first 28 seconds of his final minute.

© Provided by Associated Press National League’s Pete Alonso, of the New York Mets, hits during the second round of the MLB All Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Mancini, who returned this season from cancer treatment, was the sentimental favorite, while Alonso was the most animated of the eight sluggers as the longball competition returned after a one-year absence caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

With custom bats in the Mets’ royal blue and orange, and matching shoes and batting gloves, Alonso was a human bobblehead, nodding on beat in the batter’s box as he stepped out and danced. He motioned with his arms to whip up fans during a timeout.

© Provided by Associated Press American League’s Trey Mancini, of the Baltimore Orioles, waves to fans during the first round of the MLB All Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New York’s 26-year-old first baseman has a chance to match Griffey, who also win in 1994, as the only three-time winner.

Alonso hit a first-round record 35 dingers, seven more than Josh Hamilton in 2008 at the original Yankee Stadium, and topped Kansas City’s Salvador Pérez with 27. Alonso, batting second, beat Soto 16-15 in the second round. Alonso’s longest drive of the night traveled 514 feet.

Mancini missed the 2020 season while undergoing chemotherapy for stage 3 colon cancer, treatment he finished last Sept. 21 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The 29-year-old Baltimore Orioles first baseman hit .256 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs going into the All-Star break. His oncologist, Dr. Nilo Azad, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Camden Yards before the Orioles’ hosted the Chicago White Sox last Friday night.

Soto thrilled the crowd of 49,048 with a 520-foot homer, the longest derby drive in the Statcast era, topping 513 feet the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge in 2017 at Miami. Before Statcast, the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa was said to have hit one 524 feet at Milwaukee in 2002, clearing Bernie Brewer’s slide.

© Provided by Associated Press Notre Dame University assistant baseball coach Chuck Ristano embraces American League’s Trey Mancini, of the Baltimore Orioles, during the first round of the MLB All Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/Gabriel Christus)

Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels sensation set to start on the mound and hit leadoff as designated hitter for the American League in the All-Star Game, started slowly but forced two rounds of tiebreakers with Soto before losing 31-28 in the second round.

© Provided by Associated Press American League’s Shohei Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Angeles, walks to the plate during the first round of the MLB All Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

They were tied 22-all after regulation and 28 apiece following the first tiebreaker. Soto homered on all three swings of the next tiebreak, and Ohtani grounded out on his first swing.

Mancini won the first round 24-23 over Oakland’s Matt Olson, who hit a deep foul on his final swing.

© Provided by Associated Press American League’s Shohei Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Angeles, watches his ball take flight during the first round of the MLB All Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

“He’s a good dude,” Olson said. “To be able to battle the way he battled and come back and perform the way he has this year says a lot about him, his grit and his toughness.”

© Provided by Associated Press National League’s Trevor Story, of the Colorado Rockies, waves during the first round of the MLB All Star baseball Home Run Derby, Monday, July 12, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Story defeated Texas’ Joey Gallo 20-19 when Gallo popped out on his last swing.

“It is tiring, for sure, but it was a lot of fun for the first time,” Gallo said.

Mancini knocked out Story 13-12 in the second round, hitting second and advancing with a drive to center.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports