Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wins Home Run Derby

Of course a Junior had to do something special in Seattle.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night, tying Vladimir Sr.’s title. in 2007, becoming the first father-son duo to accomplish this feat.

As for who could win a head-to-head swing-off, that depends.

“It’s kind of hard right now,” the Toronto Blue Jays star said with a big grin, speaking through a translator. “With the time, with the minutes, I will win. If it is out, he will win.”

In a ballpark made famous a generation earlier by Ken Griffey Jr. of the Mariners, Guerrero defeated Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena 25–23 in the final round. He was 8 when his father won the crown in San Francisco.

“I don’t remember much of 2007,” said Vladimir Jr. “I think I was too young.”

Guerrero totaled 5 1/2 mile home runs – 29,390 feet to be exact. He defeated Julio Rodriguez 21-20 in the semifinals after the Mariners star made a record 41 in the first round in front of his hometown fans.

Batting against Blue Jays manager John Schneider, Guerrero was the last semifinalist to swing and the first finalist, setting a last round record for homers to surpass the mark set by Pete Alonso when he beat Guerrero 23–22 in 2019.

While Guerrero Jr. catching his breath as he watched, Arozarena batted against Tampa Bay field coordinator Tomas Francisco. Arozarena had 21 home runs in his first 2 minutes. He had 23 with 7 seconds left in his automatic 30 second bonus time before lining up and showing up on his last four swings.

Guerrero had 1 minute of bonus time and earned an additional 30 seconds as he reached 140 feet twice.

“Obviously the strength he has was incredible,” Arozarena said through a translator. “For me, I felt good going into that lap. But he could also get a minute of bonus time. I only had the 30 second bonus time.”

Vladimir Guerrero Sr. won the 2007 derby while with the Los Angeles Angels, beating Alex Rios of the Blue Jays 3–2 in the final.

Arozarena had the most overall home runs over the three rounds, 82 to Guerrero’s 72, and the most distance at 33,077 feet. Arozarena defeated Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox 35-22 in the semifinals. Robert made the longest drive of the night, a 150-yard shot to the left in the second round. That surpassed Barry Bonds’ height of 145 yards in the 2001 Seattle derby.

Trying to become the youngest Derby winner at age 22, Rodriguez knocked out Alonso, a two-time champion who hit 21. lost to Juan Soto 19-18 in the final.

Arozarena defeated Adolis Garcia of Texas 24-17 in the opening pair in front of a crowd of 46,952 at T-Mobile Park. Garcia is Arozarena’s daughter’s godfather, and the two jumped into each other’s arms during warm-up.

Robert knocked out Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman 28–27 in the opening round. Rutschman hit 21 left-handed, and the medley hit then turned to the right and hit six more right-handers during a 30-second bonus round. A native of Portland, Oregon, Rutschman grew up attending Mariners games.

Guerrero, back for the first time in four years, defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts 26-11 in the first round. Four years ago in Cleveland, Guerrero hit 29 in the first round and 40 in the second, before losing to Alonso in the final.

Alonso was trying for his third title in four years. Griffey Jr. is the only three-time winner, having won the title in 1994, ’98 and ’99.

Guerrero Sr. was a nine-time All-Star but never won a World Series. In 2018, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Guerrero Jr. is a three-time All-Star and was game MVP in Denver two years ago. What’s in the future? A World Series ring? In the hall with daddy?

“I’m a little too young to think about that right now,” he said. “When I get there I’ll think about it, I’ll see if I fit in with my dad or was better than my dad or not.”