Pete Alonso joins Yoenis Cespedes and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players in history to win back-to-back Home Run Derbies after winning the 2021 Derby.
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Call it a re-Pete.
New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso won the 2021 MLB Home Run Derby on Monday, belting 74 home runs in all en route to his second consecutive title.
His 35 home runs in the first round were also a record for that round, breaking Josh Hamilton's then-record performance of 28 in the first round of the 2008 Home Run Derby at the old Yankee Stadium.
Alonso's first round counterpart, Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals, also topped Hamilton's record, but his 29 wasn't enough to pass Alonso.
In order to qualify for an extra 30 seconds in each round, participants had to hit at least one home run of 475 feet or further. The Polar Bear hit eight home runs at least that far in the first round.
In the second round, Alonso needed just over two of the three minutes allotted to defeat Washington Nationals' Juan Soto, 16-15.
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After Trey Mancini of the Baltimore Orioles posted 22 dingers in the final round, Alonso answered with 23 of his own, giving him 74 in all for the competition, the second-most all-time. Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit 91 in 2019, when he lost to Alonso in Cleveland.
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That was the last year the Derby was held, with the All-Star Break not happening in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Alonso won with a little New York City flair as well: As he was batting, he was nodding his head to the music playing at Coors Field in Denver — a playlist he said he chose personally that consisted of NYC rap icons Nas and Mob Deep.
