MLB Home Run Derby 2022: Julio Rodriguez owns night, if not trophy

By Jake MintzFOX Sports MLB Writer

LOS ANGELES — The image should live forever in baseball history: Ken Griffey Jr. leaning forward off the edge of a white couch covered in branded hot pink pillows, drenched in sweat, a camera in his hands.

Dressed in a dri-fit polo shirt branded with the logo of his own indelible silhouette, the most iconic baseball player of a generation had his left eye squeezed shut, his right eye pressed up against his camera’s viewfinder, his attention completely and entirely focused on the subject being captured by his lens. 

It was true poetry, wonderfully appropriate, that the single greatest Home Run Derby hitter of all time had a front row seat to watch the national coronation of the sport’s newest supersonic superstar: Julio Rodríguez. 

What Griffey was, what Griffey did and most importantly, what Griffey meant to a generation of baseball fans will never, can never and should never be replicated. Junior is singular; his coolness forever unclonable, his impact on the game eternal and lasting, his star unreachable. 

But Monday night at Dodger Stadium, Julio forced the irresponsible comparison. Not since Griffey first turned his ball cap backward has a player possessed such a combination of talent and effortless electricity. 

In the event that Griffey made famous, in the uniform of the franchise that Griffey helped save, the 21-year-old Julio Yarnel Rodríguez introduced himself to the world, not as the sport’s distant future, but as its shining present. Halfway through his debut season, Rodríguez has smacked 16 homers (despite hitting zero in April) with a 134 OPS+, compiling 3.6 bWAR, while playing an outstanding defensive center field. 

He’s the runaway favorite for American League Rookie of the Year and a huge part of a Mariners team that sped into the break on a 14-game winning streak. 

The truth, he very much is. 

Yes, Juan Soto, a baseball supernova in his own right, actually won the darn thing, besting Julio in the finals by a score of 19 to 18, but the Derby is an exhibition whose winner isn’t always the enduring memory. 

Pete Alonso won the 2019 contest in Cleveland, but rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s magnificent display was the headline. Josh Hamilton didn’t win in 2008 at Yankee Stadium when he hit 28 homers in the first round, Justin Morneau did, but you didn’t remember that, did you? 

Soto deserves his flowers. The 23-year-old with a World Series trophy, two All-Star games and a second-place MVP finish already to his name, has had the most stressful week of his career following a report Saturday that he’d declined a $440 million contract extension from the Nationals. 

Soto’s decision and the trade rumors that have trailed in its wake were the talk of All-Star Media Day on Monday morning. That he rose above the hooplah to bring home his first Derby title was a remarkable accomplishment. 

But still, the evening was all about Rodríguez. 

As the event’s very first hitter, the Mariners’ All-Star could have wilted in the ruthless July heat, but instead he blossomed. Julio dispatched 32 homers deep and gone over Dodger Stadium’s symmetrical outfield wall, a total that ranked as the fourth-most homers in a single round in the Derby’s history. 

Corey Seager, the former Dodger acting as the home crowd favorite, was no match for Julio’s powerful display despite an impressive 24-tater first round. 

Rodríguez’s semifinal opponent was, in truth, the Final Boss: Alonso, the winner of the last two Home Run Derbies. It has been clear for some time now that Alonso deeply and genuinely cares about his role as “The Derby Guy.”

When Pete was shown on the broadcast deadlifting and deep-breathing intently before his semifinal showdown with Julio, it only further crystalized the Met’s dorky, yet endearing love for this silly exhibition.  

Alonso, who came in as the heavy favorite, was seeking to join Griffey as the only players to win three derbies and the first to win three in a row. It’s fitting then, that Griffey sat yards away as Julio slayed the dragon. 

As Pete inhaled and exhaled in the underground batting cage, J-Rod continued his excellence from round one by blasting 31 more long balls, the fifth-most single-round total in derby history. Mixing in the occasional laser beam alongside his trademark galaxy-scraping moonshots, J-Rod brought the L.A. crowd — a crowd filled mostly with fans who’d never seen the young star in person before — up onto its feet. 

When it became clear about halfway through Alonso’s round that he’d likely fall short of Julio’s impressive mark, the crowd grew quiet with tension, somewhat stunned. Alonso had never lost a derby before, and it was pretty shocking to see the impenetrable Polar Bear falter on a stage that he’d commanded with such ease. 

As Alonso’s final hit touched earth, the stocky first baseman shrugged playfully to the camera as the youthfully exuberant Rodríguez bounded out toward him for a respectful embrace.

In the finals, Rodríguez appeared to run out of fuel, failing to hit multiple homers over 440 feet and thus missing out on the extra-time bonus. That proved to be the difference as Soto used his extra 30 seconds to surpass J-Rod’s 18 bombs and capture the crown. 

But the night belonged to Julio. That’s how it should and will be remembered: as the ascension of an unstoppable rocket ship with a sun-bright future. 

Perhaps it’s too early, too premature to compare the 21-year-old Dominican to Griffey. Many a young star has flashed brief and bright before failing to live up to the unrealistic expectations thrust upon them. 

But there’s something undeniably different about Julio, a sort of magic energy he exudes that inspires confidence, assuages doubt and makes the impossible seem possible. 

It was a night of wonder, a passing of the torch and a display of transcendent superstardom. And for Julio, it’s only the beginning.

Jake Mintz is the louder half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He’s an Orioles fan living in New York City, and thus, he leads a lonely existence most Octobers. If he’s not watching baseball, he’s almost certainly riding his bike. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.

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