2021 MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby: Big numbers from Pete Alonso’s epic derby performance
Pete Alonso #PeteAlonso
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso defended his Home Run Derby title in an epic night during the 2021 MLB All-Star Game festivities. Alonso beat Trey Mancini of the Baltimore Orioles for the crown.
As the dust settles from Alonso’s performance in Denver, here are some key figures to contextualize his historic night of going yard.
1hMLB Insiders
16hKIley McDaniel and David Schoenfield
15hKevin Van Valkenburg
2 Related
15,659: Alonso hit 35 total home runs in the first round of tonight’s contest, setting a record for the opening round and third-most in any round. Including a 514-foot shot, those homers traveled a total of 15,659 feet, according to ESPN’s Stats and Information. He homered on his first 17 pitches.
74: The 2019 All-Star went yard 74 times in Monday’s victory and became the first person to hit at least 100 homers in a Home Run Derby career. For context, Alonso entered this season with 69 career home runs in 218 appearances for New York. His 2021 derby total trails only Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 91 in 2019 for the most-ever in a single contest.
3: Having won the 2019 Home Run Derby, Alonso became just the third hitter to win back-to-back contests. He joins Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Cespedes (2013-14). Daryl Strawberry (1986) is the only other player in Mets history to win the derby even once. Alonso’s victory marks the fifth time in six contests a National League player won. Aaron Judge (2017) is the only AL player to win over that span.
Year Player Distance (ft) 2021 Juan Soto 520 2021 Trevor Story 518 2021 Pete Alonso 514 2021 Shohei Ohtani 513 2017 Aaron Judge 513 2021 Pete Alonso 512 2021 Pete Alonso 509 2021 Pete Alonso 508 2021 Shohei Ohtani 507 2017 Aaron Judge 507
500: Since Statcast first started play-by-play tracking in 2016, Alonso is responsible for four of the ten longest homers hit in the derby over that span. He hit four home runs of at least 500 feet Monday, trailing only Shohei Ohtani’s six such homers for the most in a single contest.
6: With 22 home runs in the final round, Mancini put pressure on Alonso. Alonso responded with 17 during regulation but sealed the win by knocking out six consecutive homers.
309: The 309 total homers hit in the 2021 derby are the second-highest total in the contest’s history. Only 2019 (312) had more.
$1 million: That’s the total prize money for Alonso. That nearly doubles Alonso’s 2021 salary of $675,775.