Justin Morneau Wins Home Run Derby

by Jesse on Jul 14, 2008 11:16 PM EDT in News Comment 19 comments

It may be an afterthought in the national spotlight thanks to Josh Hamilton's exploits, but in Twins Territory we're all about our Canadian first baseman.

In the first round of Monday's Home Run Derby, it was the Josh Hamilton show. Last to step to the dish in the field of eight contestants, he needed to hit seven home runs to move onto round two.

He hit 28.

Shattering the record set just a couple of summers ago by Bobby Abreu, sphere after sphere jumped off the bat of Hamilton, as he rained down a shower of balls into the right field seats. As his turn dragged on for over ten minutes, it wasn't boredom that set in throughout the stadium. It was awe. Fans and All-Stars alike took to their feet as one after another, baseballs disappeared into the New York night. Majestic, powerful and impressive arcs scorched the skies, and when all was said and done, the Ranger outfielder had written a place for himself in the history books.

With eight home runs in round one, which tied him for second most in the round with Lance Berkman, our own Justin Morneau made the cut to the final four. With totals from the first two rounds being combined, it meant there was only one spot available in the finals between Morneau, Berkman and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, who had hit seven in the first round. Josh Hamilton's 28 assured him a place in the finals.

Berkman managed another six before using his outs, meaning Justin had to hit seven in round two. He hit nine. This meant Braun would need 10 to tie and 11 to make it to the finals, but he fell a few short. Last to take to the plate in round two was Hamilton, who really didn't need to hit at all. But he did, and he dropped another four balls into the seats before calling it a round after just four outs. Justin Morneau was heading to the Derby finals with Josh Hamilton, who had just out-homered him nearly 2-to-1...with six fewer outs.

Justin went first, and managed to launch five, pacing himself over his ten outs. Because the final round numbers don't include totals from the first two rounds, it meant that Hamilton needed just six to take home the trophy. Watching the contest, while you hoped that he had worn himself out in the first round it wan't much comfort after seeing his display of power. But that's exactly what happened. Hamilton managed just one home run by the time he tallied three outs; two homers through five outs; and three homers by seven. After crushing the competition into oblivion in round one, Josh Hamilton could only manage three in the finals.

It was a fantastic contest, and if I'm honest, had a climax and finish that I did not expect. Morneau finished the night with 22 home runs, six fewer than Hamilton hit in just the first round, but it was enough to win him the trophy. Home Run Derby champions are few and far between for any franchise, and I'm proud to call Justin Morneau a Minnesota Twin.

Congratulations, Justin! You won tonight, and you earned it!

Pics of Justin from the Derby after the jump!

You wanna know what Boom feels like?

Boom feels like this, bitches. Justin Go BOOM!

Canadians only need one hand to hoist their trophies.

All pictures courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

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Congratulations to Justin Morneau!

I’m an Angel fan that was rooting for Justin to win, and it was all the more exciting he beat out Hamilton. I’m thrilled he won and he deserved the trophy.

by 44FAN on Jul 14, 2008 11:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

There is no way Morneau deserved this.

Hamilton simply defeated himself. I’m not saying that Morneau didn’t put on a good showing, but the trophy should be in Josh’s hands right now, and I think everybody, including Morneau himself, knows this. There is simply no argument that Josh didn’t deserve it other than the fact that your an Angels fan and can’t believe that any Ranger player would actually win something, which I hope isn’t the case.

by cds1987 on Jul 15, 2008 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Calm down

I think many people will agree that Hamilton may have lost the trophy rather than Justin winning it… but I think I speak for most of us on this board when I say that we’re proud of Justin for sticking it out. And for being a class act all the way.

Yes, Josh was the story tonight, even if he tired himself out in the stretch. And if an Angels fan wishes our boy the best, we take it as it is, a well-meaning congratulations. “Deserved” or not, he’s ours and we couldn’t be more proud.

by Neil on Jul 15, 2008 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Josh broke the record,

but he didn’t win the Derby. Justin Morneau did. You don’t have to like it, but that’s what happened.

And Justin does deserve it. How can you possibly justify otherwise? Nobody cheated. Nobody had an unfair call or an unfair bounce. They each had their chances, and Morneau beat Hamilton. That’s it, end of discussion.

If the point of the Home Run derby was to break the record for how many homers were hit in a single round, then yeah, Hamilton would have won. But that’s not what the Derby is.

Morneau won. He derserves it, and he knows it. Nobody-not baseball, not Hamilton, and not you-can take that away from him.

by Jesse on Jul 15, 2008 12:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Josh put on a show, a spectacular one at that, but he wore himself out as well as his elderly pitcher and came up short in the end.

Justin Morneau paced himself, persevered, and had enough in reserve to win in the end. Morneau played the better game and was the winner according to the rules of that game. In the end Morneau was the smarter player and Josh looked a litttle bit like a fool for blowing it in the end.

It is sad to see another Ranger’s fan always counting their chickens before they are hatched, and then crying foul when their team does’nt quite get the job done in the end. The game is’nt played by who hits the big homerun in the fifth inning, it’s played from the first pitch to the last out.

by 44FAN on Jul 15, 2008 1:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Deserve's got nothin' to do with it

This is like complaining that the 2001 Mariners didn’t win the WS. If Hamilton’s feat is spectacular as everyone seems to think it was, it will be remembered. There’s no reason to go worrying about whether the trophy got handed to the right person, though. The rules were clearly stated before the competition, and if Josh Hamilton didn’t like those rules, he could simply have not participated.

by ubelmann on Jul 15, 2008 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I’d say Hamilton lost because Jesus punished him for doing drugs. Remember Josh! Crack is Wack!

by nathaneide on Jul 15, 2008 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

actually

I thought I should point out that Hamilton broke BOBBY ABREU’s record not Albert Pujols.

Congrats to Justin! MVP baby, MVP!

by 33MorneauMVP on Jul 14, 2008 11:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks, I'll change that!

by Jesse on Jul 14, 2008 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Congrats to Justin!

I have to say that watching Hamilton in round one I felt like I was watching history. What a display of power!

It’s too bad that Justin winning the HR derby is going to be nothing more than an AFLAC trivia question in a few years b/c all people will remember are the 28 hit by Hamilton in round one.

I’d love to watch the sports networks talking about Justin and the Twins but it is not to be. Like they said, the derby like the season is a marathon, not a sprint. Justin outlasted Hamilton, maybe the Twins will outlast Chicago in the 2nd half.

Congrats Justin!
Go Twins!

by caluofmn on Jul 15, 2008 12:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It was

It was like Justin did himself, even after he’d won the day he motioned to Hamilton like he was the first to receive accolades. The Home Run Derby is about spectacle, showmanship, and fun more than anything else, and hamilton was certainly king of the night in that regard.

But Justin took home the hardware. It was fun as hell to have a Twin win that contest. The only other times I can remember having a Twin to root for in that contest (Hunter in 2002 and Morneau himself last year) they didn’t do well (in 2002 Fox didn’t even SHOW Hunter’s first round effort in the telecast, skipping right to the higher profile eat coast players).

It’s nice to head to New York and steal the show for Minnesota.

"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the damn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all."
~ Earl Weaver
"In God we trust. All others must provide evidence."
~ Billy Beane

by AdamOnFirst on Jul 15, 2008 5:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Tactics

Hamilton came out in the second round, and hit four homers and four outs. If he saves those swings for the finals, he’s the winner.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jul 15, 2008 9:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I thought I heard

him asking Michael Young and Milton Bradley about the rules… I thought he kept saying, “It’s total, right?” Perhaps for some reason he was laboring under the delusion that he needed the most in all three rounds to win… I can’t see another reason why he’d swing in the second round unless he thought he needed the HR’s.

by Neil on Jul 15, 2008 9:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

J-Mo = Ali, Hamilton = Foreman

The Finals = 8th Round

The only thing I didn’t like was that Justin said Hamilton deserved it. No he didn’t. He didn’t play the game right and lost. Justin won it fair and square.

ESPN can suck it.

by TMW on Jul 15, 2008 10:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Humble

J-Mo is just doing the Twins thing and being humble, being quiet and passing the glory. Hamilton is a great story and had a great day yesterday. But he did not win. J-Mo is just being a respectful all-star teamate and affirming that Hamilton had a great showing and will likely be remembered for his performance. Morneau won the derby like he won the 06 AL MVP, by being consistant.

by WITwinsfan on Jul 15, 2008 12:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ESPN

The thing that ticked me off the most was whomever of the eight commentators plus guests on ESPN said this: “Nobody will remember Justin Morneau winning this. Everyone will remember Josh Hamilton’s record.” Huh? 20 years from now everyone will remember Morneau winning because it will be written down. Two years from now, half the people will have forgotten the record because it’s meaningless.

As much as I hate to admit it, Morgan said it best: Mark McGuire had a monster first round (19) and ended up losing the competition because he used all his bullets early.” He was the only sensible one after the others went gaga over the record.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Jul 15, 2008 1:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Morneau won it,

and congratulations. But Justin was right – and more than humble – when he said the “night” belonged to Hamilton. Any of you who are foolish enough to believe that justin “outplayed” Hamilton by somehow saving his strength, ... ha,ha,ha … more power to you. Justin swung at everything he could and gave it all he could and had he had the ability (last night) to knock out 28 in the first round he would have. Justin’s third round was below average and he was lucky that Hamilton and his 71 year old pitcher wore themselves out a little – and lost their timing.

I am glad to see such a solid young man like Morneau hold up that trophy, I hope his perseverance and strength are an analogy for the Twins’ 2008 season, but… no one owes Justin an apology for being awed by Hamilton’s performance.

No one will care to look back at the average performance of a 2008 homerun derby winner – even if it is “written down” – but lots of baseball fans will have Hamilton’s effortless performance of raw power and timing.

Hamilton’s first round was stunning and beautiful.

by montanatwinsfan on Jul 15, 2008 3:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

darn it, should have read:

– but lots of baseball fans will have Hamilton’s effortless performance of raw power and timing seared into their long term memory.

by montanatwinsfan on Jul 15, 2008 3:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

montanatwins,

you couldn’t have said it better. Justin is a class act, and yes he won. But even he recognized the awe of Hamilton. Don’t know why people get so worked up over a Home Run Derby anyway. It’s just something MLB does for entertainment purposes anyway. Doesn’t mean anyone is better than the next guy. There were good players that didn’t even participate.

by TexasHeater on Jul 18, 2008 4:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs