Major League Baseball's first-half home run king, Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners), has stood tall as the home run derby champion.
On 15th (Korea time), Raleigh became the first catcher to win the championship trophy at the 2025 Major League Baseball home run derby held at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
A total of 8 players participated in the home run derby first round. The players competing included Raleigh, who leads the league in home runs for the first half of the season (38 home runs), James Wood (24 home runs, Washington Nationals), Brent Rooker (20 home runs, Athletics), Junior Caminero (23 home runs, Tampa Bay Rays), O'Neil Cruz (16 home runs, Pittsburgh Pirates), Byron Buxton (21 home runs, Minnesota Twins), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (17 home runs, New York Yankees), and Matt Olson (17 home runs, Atlanta Braves).
According to the rules that allow the top 4 players out of the 8 to advance to the second round, Cruz and Caminero, who each hit 21 home runs, as well as Buxton with 20 home runs and Raleigh with 17 home runs advanced to the next round. Cruz launched a massive home run of 513 feet (approximately 156 meters), and Raleigh tied with Rooker (17 home runs) but narrowly edged ahead in average distance to barely secure a spot in the second round.
The second round, conducted as a tournament, featured a matchup of Raleigh vs. Cruz and Caminero vs. Buxton. The 1st and 4th place from the first round faced each other, while the 2nd and 3rd place also matched up. Raleigh exploded with 19 home runs, defeating Cruz, who hit 13 home runs, and advancing to the finals, while Caminero managed to hit only 8 home runs, but Buxton remained at 7, allowing Caminero to succeed in reaching the finals.
In the final, season leader Raleigh with 38 home runs faced off against Caminero with 23 home runs. Raleigh, who started first, hit 18 home runs, while Caminero entered to hit 14 home runs within the allotted time, putting pressure on Raleigh. However, he could only add 1 more in the bonus round, ending with a total of 15 home runs and concluding the home run derby. This was the moment Raleigh stood tall as the champion.
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