If we talk about the best sluggers in baseball, we must mention Giancarlo Stanton as he is no stranger to home runs. In fact, the Miami Marlins outfielder last year won the Home Run Derby at Petco Park in San Diego when he defeated Tod Frazier 20-13 in the final.
Stanton will try to become only the third player ever to win back-to-back Home Run Derbies. Ken Griffey Jr. (then with the Seattle Mariners) did it in 1998 and 1999, and Yoenis Cespedes did it in 2013 and 2014 for the Oakland Athletics.
Griffey Jr. won his second Home Run Derby in 1998 (he won the first one in 1994 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh) against hitters like Rafael Palmeiro, Jim Thome, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire and Chipper Jones. He won the title at the home run-friendly Coors Field. The following year Griffey, a lefty, successfully defended his title despite the event taking place at Fenway Park, a park where lefties usually struggle.
Cespedes won in 2013 his first Home Run Derby by hitting 17 home runs in the first round, six in the second before facing Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper in the final and defeating him 9-8. The event was held at City Field, in New York.
The following campaign the Home Run Derby had a new format but Cespedes still found a way to win. He did it by advancing to the second round and defeating Adam Jones 9-3 before defeating Jose Bautista 7-4 in the semifinals. In the final he defeated Todd Frazier, of the Cincinnati Reds, 9-1. The event took place at Minnesota’s Target Field.
If Giancarlo Stanton wins tonight, he will not only join Cespedes and Griffey’s feat, but he will become the first National League player to win the Home Run Derby in consecutive seasons since 1985 when the event was held for the first time.
