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43 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cal Raleigh wins 2025 MLB Home Run Derby: Highlights from Atlanta slugfest
USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. ATLANTA — The Big Dumper did it. After putting together a record-setting first half, Cal Raleigh won Major League Baseball's 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park, earning himself the title of baseball's top slugger. Advertisement The Seattle Mariners slugger who hit 38 home runs before the All-Star break – the second-most in MLB history – dispatched the Tampa Bay Rays' 22-year-old Junior Caminero in the final, and is the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby. With his dad pitching and younger brother catching, Raleigh became the second Mariner to be crowned Derby champion, joining Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr., who won it three times. "You don't think you're gonna win it. You do't think you're even going to be invited," Raleigh said. "Then you get invited and the fact that you win it with your family is super special. What a night." ATLANTA ALL-STAR GAME: The Battery is the envy of sports – but ballpark village isn't all peachy Advertisement But Raleigh's night almost ended early, advancing out of the first round by less than one inch. Raleigh and Brent Rooker had finished tied for fourth with 17 homers, with the tiebreaker being their longest home run. That looked tied as well with MLB's live tracker showing both at 471 feet, but Raleigh's 470.61-foot homer (literally) inched out Rooker's 470.53-foot shot. "My goodness gracious, it's close. It's just crazy," Raleigh said after his win. "An inch off, and I'm not even in the final four. Just amazing. "I guess I got lucky there. One extra biscuit." Then, Raleigh came alive in the semifinals, slugging 19 homers to easily defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz. Cruz had brought the crowd to its feet in the first round, crushing a 513-foot blast – the longest of the night – for the eighth of his 21 home runs. Advertisement "To do it as a family was really special," Cal's dad Todd Raleigh said after the Derby. "I don't know why we've been blessed like this ... When it involved the family, the complexion changed. And we thought, if he doesn't hit any home runs, we're still gonna be good." Asked how his son became a switch-hitter, Todd didn't skip a beat. "Did it from the first day, when he was in diapers, literally," Todd said. "And I would take that big ball and he had a big red bat. I'd throw it slow and he'd hit it. Then I'd say stay there, pick him up, turn him around, switch his hands and do it again." Byron Buxton, who hit 20 in the first round, fell to Caminero in the other semifinal. Advertisement Also eliminated in the first round were the Washington Nationals' James Wood (16 HR), hometown favorite Matt Olson (15) and New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm (3). Here's how the night unfolded at Truist Park: Home Run Derby final: Cal Raleigh beats Junior Caminero The final is set with Cal Raleigh facing Junior Caminero. Raleigh led off in the final and had a blast, slugging 18 home runs – which is going to be a tough number for Caminero to beat. Caminero pepped the right field seats with homers and ended regulation with 14, setting up a dramatic bonus period where he needed four to tie Raleigh. Caminero only managed one, making Raleigh the 2025 champion. Cal Raleigh defeats Oneil Cruz After getting into the semifinals by a literal Big Dumper came alive in the semifinal with 19 home runs. Cruz crushed it in the first round, but came up short in the semifinals with 13 homers to end his night. Junior Caminero defeats Byron Buxton Buxton hit seven home runs in his semifinal round, unable to find the late burst that powered him out of the first round. Caminero walked it off with his eighth home run, advancing to the final where he will face Cal Raleigh or Oneil Cruz. Home Run Derby semifinals set It'll be Byron Buxton vs. Junior Caminero and Oneil Cruz vs. Cal Raleigh in the knockout stage, with the winners advancing to the final. Home Run Derby score sheet: Live stats from first round * Advances to semifinals // ^ Eliminated Cal Raleigh, Mariners — 17 HR * James Wood, Nationals — 16 HR ^ Junior Caminero, Rays — 21 HR * Byron Buxton, Twins — 20 HR * Brent Rooker, Athletics — 17 HR ^ Matt Olson, Braves — 15 HR ^ Jazz Chisholm, Yankees — 3 HR ^ Oneil Cruz, Pirates — 21 HR * Cal Raleigh advances to semifinals by matter of inches With only one spot left in the semifinals Cal Raleigh and Brent Rooker each finished the first round with 17 home runs. The tiebreaker was longest home run distance, which appeared tied initially. But Raleigh's longest went 470.61 feet while Rooker's traveled 470.53 – a tie broken by 0.08 feet. Advertisement Hometown hero Matt Olson comes up short With the Truist Field fans behind him, the Braves' first baseman locked in and finished regular time with 15 home runs – but failed to hit another in bonus time to force his way into the semifinaks. Cal Raleigh switches it up, hits 17 With his dad pitching and brother catching, Raleigh started the round batting left-handed, flipped coming out of a timeout – and then went back to the left side for the bonus time. Delivered in the clutch, tying him with Brent Rooker for fourth place with 17. Jazz Chisholm Jr. turns in ugly performance The Yankees infielder was booed after his round, hitting just three home runs to ensure a quick elimination. Chisholm struggled mightily, fouling a number of swings straight back into the stands. Byron Buxton puts himself in position with 20 HR The Minnesota Twins' Georgia native hit 20 home runs in his round, the longest traveling 466 feet. He's in third place with three batters remaining, and can only watch as he awaits his fate. Advertisement Oneil Cruz hit a baseball 513 feet The Pittsburgh Pirates' center fielder brought the Truist Park crowd to its feet, launching home runs that traveled 513 and 488 feet. He finished the round with 21, tying him for the lead halfway through. Junior Caminero tees off: 21 homers to take the lead The Tampa Bay Rays third baseman is in the lead after three hitters, crushing 21 home run in his round. Brent Rooker next up: 17 home runs The Athletics right-hander moved to the top of the leaderboard with 17 home runs, his longest traveling 471 feet. James Wood leads off Home Run Derby The Washington Nationals' second-year slugger was first up and had a huge round, hitting 16 homers with a longest shot of 486 feet. Who is in the Home Run Derby? (Home run totals at the All-Star break) Advertisement Cal Raleigh: 'The Big Dumper' makes Home Run Derby a family affair ATLANTA — When Cal Raleigh steps to the plate for his first swing at the Home Run Derby, his past, present and future coalesce. Pitching is his father Todd, the former Western Carolina and Tennessee coach, the man who dragged young Cal along to practices and batboy opportunities and built a workout facility at their North Carolina home. And catching is Todd 'T' Raleigh, Raleigh's 15-year-old brother whose games he tries to attend when his Seattle Mariners travels take him to back to the Deep South, who dons the hand-me-down cleats big brother bequeaths. – Gabe Lacques Home Run Derby odds Odds via BetMGM as of 12 p.m. Advertisement Cal Raleigh : +280 Oneil Cruz: +350 James Wood : +400 Matt Olson : +900 Brent Rooker : +900 Byron Buxton : +950 Junior Caminero : +1000 Jazz Chisholm Jr.: +1500 Home Run Derby rules, new format The 2025 Home Run Derby features three rounds: the first round, semifinals and finals. In the first round, the hitters have three minutes or 40 pitches (whichever comes first) to hit as many home runs as they can. Each player gets a bonus period that lasts until they take three swings that don't result in a homer. If a home run of 425 feet or longer is hit during the bonus time, the hitter gets a fourthout The four players with the highest totals advance to the semifinals – with first-round ties being broken by the player who hit the longest home run in their round. Advertisement The semifinals becomes a knockout format, with players seeded Nos. 1-4 based on their first-round totals. Players have two minutes or 27 pitches in the semifinals and finals. Ties in the semifinal are broken by a 60-second "swing-off." Each batter gets one 45-second timeout – but timeouts be called during bonus periods or tiebreakers. Who won last year's Home Run Derby? Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was crowned 2024 Home Run Derby champion after defeating Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the finals. Hernandez slugged 14 homers in the final round, one more than Witt, to become the first Dodgers player to win the Derby title. Advertisement MLB Home Run Derby winners by year 1985 : Dave Parker, Reds 1986 : Wally Joyner, Angels & Darryl Strawberry, Mets 1987 : Andre Dawson, Cubs 1988 : Not held 1989 : Eric Davis, Reds & Ruben Sierra, Rangers 1990 : Ryne Sandberg, Cubs 1991 : Cal Ripken Jr., Orioles 1992 : Mark McGwire, Athletics 1993 : Juan Gonzalez, Rangers 1994 : Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners 1995 : Frank Thomas, White Sox 1996 : Barry Bonds, Giants 1997 : Tino Martinez, Yankees 1998 : Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners 1999 : Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners 2000 : Sammy Sosa, Cubs 2001 : Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks 2002 : Jason Giambi, Yankees 2003 : Garret Anderson, Angels 2004 : Miguel Tejada, Orioles 2005 : Bobby Abreu, Phillies 2006 : Ryan Howard, Phillies 2007 : Vladimir Guerrero, Angels 2008 : Justin Morneau, Twins 2009 : Prince Fielder, Brewers 2010 : David Ortiz, Red Sox 2011 : Robinson Cano, Yankees 2012 : Prince Fielder, Tigers 2013 : Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics 2014 : Yoenis Cespedes, Athletics 2015 : Todd Frazier, Reds 2016 : Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins 2017 : Aaron Judge, Yankees 2018 : Bryce Harper, Nationals 2019 : Pete Alonso, Mets 2020 : Not held (COVID) 2021 : Pete Alonso, Mets 2022 : Juan Soto, Nationals 2023 : Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays 2024: Teoscar Hernandez, Dodgers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who won Home Run Derby? Cal Raleigh highlights, All-Star results
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Yankees star Jazz Chisholm ruthlessly savaged by MLB fans after Home Run Derby humiliation
Baseball fans are mercilessly mocking New York Yankees star Jazz Chisholm, who had a night to forget at the 2025 Home Run Derby in Atlanta. This year's derby only featured three of the top-ten home run hitters in the league. While top-ten hitters Cal Raleigh, James Wood, and Junior Caminero participated, the league had to go as low as 43rd on the home run list to fill out a roster of ten stars to participate. As a result, some shocking performances were turned in - but none worse than Jazz Chisholm. Chisholm, who is currently 31st on the MLB home run list, stepped into the batters box and hit a paltry three home runs on 38 swings. It was by far the least amount of home runs in the first round for the night - with the next lowest number coming from Matt Olson, who hit 15 homers. Chisholm was eviscerated on social media - with memes mocking him popping up moments after he was eliminated. Memes compared him to George Costanza, Billy Beane of 'Moneyball' fame, and his struggling Yankees teammate Anthony Volpe. 'Fun fact: Jazz Chisholm Jr. chose to wear the jersey number 3 to foreshadow the amount of home runs he was going to hit tonight... chills,' joked one user on X. Boston sports fan Tyler Milliken joked that former Red Sox minor leaguer Bobby Dalbec 'would've put on a better show than Jazz Chisholm. I know that.' 'People are mad about [Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob] Misiorowski being in the All Star Game when we should really be asking why the f Jazz Chisholm was in the Home Run Derby,' said another account. Another account raged, 'This is a black eye on Major League Baseball and Rob Manfred. Eugenio Suarez, an all-star with 31 home runs (4th in MLB), wanted to participate in the Derby. MLB wouldn't let him so they could let Jazz Chisholm, a guy with 4 HRs on the road this season, play. Hope you're happy.' 'Jazz Chisholm needs a friend in his life who would have told him no when he said he was gonna sign up for the Home Run Derby,' joked another. Fans mocked Chisholm and blasted MLB for letting him participate despite his low numbers In a season where the Yankees have struggled to keep momentum going, Chisholm has been one of the few bright spots. His 17 home runs is good for second on the team behind Aaron Judge, who did not compete in the Home Run Derby despite being second in the league in the statistic. As for the event itself, Seattle Mariners superstar Cal Raleigh won the Home Run Derby with 18 blasts in the final round to outlast Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays. Raleigh, who leads MLB in home runs at the All-Star Break, hit 17 homers in the first round to barely survive into the semifinals after StatCast determined he broke a tie with Brent Rooker by 0.1 feet. He then outlasted Oneil Cruz in the semifinals before beating Caminero and becoming the first Mariner to win the event since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1999.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Seattle catcher Raleigh wins MLB Home Run Derby
Seattle's Cal Raleigh became the first catcher to ever win Major League Baseball's Home Run Derby, defeating Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero in the final (Kevin C. Cox) Seattle's Cal Raleigh defeated Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero 18-15 in Monday's final to become the first catcher to win Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. The 28-year-old American switch-hitter, who leads MLB with 38 homers this season, won $1 million by capturing the special event for sluggers at Atlanta's Truist Park ahead of Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game. Advertisement "It means the world," Raleigh said. "I could have hit zero home runs and had just as much fun. I just can't believe I won. It's unbelievable." Raleigh, who advanced from the first round by less than an inch (25.4mm) on a longest homer tiebreaker, had his father Todd pitching to him and his brother Todd Jr. as catcher. "It's just a great accomplishment and I think that every dad... this is what they dreamed about," Todd Raleigh Sr. said. To see it come true for your son is unbelievable." Cal was ignited by his brother's encouragement. "He was hyping me up the whole time," the Mariners slugger said. "Just got me going and I think that's why I got good spurts during the Derby. Advertisement "It was a lot of fun. It was an awesome experience." Raleigh, one shy of the MLB record 39 homers by Barry Bonds before an All-Star break, is on pace to set a one-season record for MLB homers by a catcher. The final pitted the Rays' Caminero, a 22-year-old Dominican third baseman using a bat with his image on it, against Raleigh. It featured two minutes or 27 pitches plus earned bonus time. Raleigh smashed 18 homers, setting a tough target for Caminero, who smacked homers off seven of the first 10 pitches he faced and 14 homers in all after regulation time. Needing four more to force a swing-off, Caminero could add only one in the extra session and when his final hit fell short of the outfield wall, Raleigh had the title. Advertisement Caminero, who would have been the youngest Derby winner, earns less for the season salary, $764,000, than Raleigh took home. In the knockout semi-finals, Caminero smashed eight homers in less than a minute to advance over Minnesota outfielder Byron Buxton's total of seven. "I feel good," Caminero said. "I'm glad the fans were here to see me put on a show." In the other semi-final, Raleigh homered on five of the first six pitches he faced and smashed 19 homers while Pittsburgh's Oneil Cruz batted next and managed only 13. Cruz, a 26-year-old Dominican outfielder, had the night's longest homer, a first-round blast that went 513 feet. Advertisement - 'Let it ride' - Raleigh smacked 10 homers batting left-handed in the first round and belted seven hitting right-handed, but went all-lefty the rest of the way. "I felt the rhythm so I just thought let it ride," Raleigh said. In the first round, where everyone had 40 pitches or three minutes plus any earned bonus time, Cruz blasted 21 homers, claiming the semi-finals top seed with the longest homer as Caminero was also on 21 with Buxton third on 20. Raleigh and Brent Rooker of the Athletics each hit 17 homers but Raleigh's longest blast was 470.61 feet to 470.53 for Rooker's longest, advancing Raleigh to the semis by less than an inch. Eliminated in the first round were Rooker, Washington's James Wood on 16, Atlanta's Matt Olson on 15 and Bahamian Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees on three. js/sla
New York Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Raleigh gets 17!
Mariners star Raleigh, the MLB leader in home runs this season, defeated Junior Caminero in the final Getty Images Cal Raleigh needed two home runs to tie Brent Rooker and stay alive. Down to his final out in the bonus round, he got it! He's now tied with Rooker for fourth place at 17... Yes, Cal Raleigh has different bats catered to his right- and left-handed swings. He refers to them both as torpedo bats, thought the left-handed one seems to have a more exaggerated torpedo shape. "Right-handed is end-loaded. Left is balanced," he said today. Getty Images About halfway through the round, Raleigh switched to the right side. He hit eight on the left. Raleigh added seven from the right side. He's at 15 heading into the bonus round. Cal Raleigh just hit back-to-back home runs that landed on top of the "Chop House" building beyond Truist Park's right-field fencing. He has an early eight home runs before calling timeout to talk with his father and Mariners teammates. Let's see if the switch-hitter switches sides... Oneil Cruz: 21 Junior Caminero: 21 Byron Buxton: 20 Brent Rooker: 17 James Wood: 16 Jazz Chisholm Jr.: 3 Ties are broken by which player hit the longest home run. Getty Images Superstar Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, having a prolific 2025 season with 38 home runs before the All-Star break, is now up. His dad is pitching to him! Everyone knows the infamous "Ya like Jazz" meme from The Bee Movie. The Truist Park crowd would definitely say "NO." Your question now: Was THAT fun, Jazz? Yeah? Was that fun for you? Nevermind. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has unfortunately entered the ranks of players to do terrible in the Home Run Derby. "It's just BP," he said earlier today. Jazz also didn't practice in the days leading up to the derby like some others. He thought that would help him. "I'm just here to have fun," he said. "That's what really went into it. I'm not really gonna over do it, overthink like, 'Ah, I got to do this when I'm out there.' Just let it come naturally." Sadly, the power of anime and good vibes were not on Jazz's side tonight. At the very least, he won't be part of the "Zero homers at the Home Run Derby club," which is a very sizable list. Let's collectively agree to move on, forget about Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s round and get back to the fun. Getty Images The Yankees star finishes at just three home runs, but teammates including Aaron Judge still come out to dap him up. ESPN chose a good time to have Chris Sale on set for an impromptu interview. It allowed the broadcast to focus more on Sale chopping it up with a crew that includes ex-White Sox teammate Todd Frazier instead of Jazz Chisholm's round, which ends at just three home runs. The bonus round is coming up next, but barring a miracle, Chisholm is done. Getty Images To my colleagues' point, Jazz Chisholm has just one home run in his first 18 swings with 1:20 left. The obligatory brutal Home Run Derby round has arrived. The Derby announcer is telling fans not to count out Jazz but unless he goes ham in the next 1:25, he's as good as gone. Getty Images There's always gotta be one Derby round that makes you wish you could fast-forward through it, for the guy's sake. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is having that round. It's a family affair at the Home Run Derby as Jazz Chisholm Jr. is having his step-father pitch to him. Cal Raleigh has assembled a team with his father and brother pitching and catching, respectively. Elsewhere, Byron Buxton's designated Gatorade givers were his sons. I know the rules have changed a lot, but whatever happened to guys coming out and doing terrible in the Home Run Derby? Chipper Jones hitting only two homers in 2000 scarred me as a child. And that was actually better than when he hit only one homer in 1998. Troy Glaus, Bret Boone, Jason Bay and Brandon Inge are among players who didn't hit a single home run in their appearances.
CNN
4 hours ago
- Sport
- CNN
Cal Raleigh wins the Home Run Derby with his dad and brother playing key supporting roles
It's the year of The Big Dumper. With a hot and humid night making perfect conditions for the long ball, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh won the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, defeating Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero in the finals. His prize? In addition to the classic trophy featuring two criss-crossed silver baseball bats, Raleigh received a gaudy bejeweled championship chain emblazoned with the words 'Derby Champ.' Affectionately nicknamed for his prodigious posterior, Raleigh is living the dream. He is already close to record pace for home runs in a season, had his father on the mound as his pitcher for the derby and his 15-year-old brother was behind him as one of the event's catchers. Much as he has looked all year, Raleigh just seemed absolutely unstoppable. 'It just means the world,' Raleigh said after the game. '… I just can't believe I won.' 'It's just a great accomplishment, I think that everybody, every dad who has a kid, this is what they dream about,' Todd Raleigh said about his son's victory after the event. Raleigh went up first in the final, starting from the left side of the plate and quickly getting into a rhythm as ball after ball went soaring through the sky. The league leader in home runs – he has 38 at the All-Star break – jacked seven before taking a timeout halfway through his final round. He hit eight more in the final minute, including one that snuck over the fence as the buzzer sounded. In the bonus round that followed, he hit three more and Caminero needed 19 home runs in the final round in order to win the contest. Caminero started off sending balls into the left field grandstands, peppering the crowd with laser home runs. He even got robbed of one by one of the children on the field who shag the balls that don't leave the yard – the kid jumped and grabbed the ball just before it cleared the fence. Caminero was still awarded the homer, and he ended the timed portion of the round with 14 home runs and needing five to win in the bonus round. He wasn't able to do it, falling short and finishing with 15 home runs in the final. It was a perfect night for baseball's premier display of power when some of the game's biggest stars took their shots at putting dents in Truist Park's outfield grandstands. Easily the crowd's favorite moment of schadenfreude was Jazz Chisholm Jr's disappointing first round. A former division rival when he played with the Miami Marlins, Chisholm only hit three home runs in the opening round – easily the lowest total of the first round. The current Yankee was booed during introductions and again when he finished his round. The loudest the crowd got in the opening stages was for hometown hero Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson, who finally got hot late in the first round to bring the faithful to their feet. But his 15 home runs weren't enough to see him through to the semifinal round. James Wood, the young Washington Nationals star, went first and was eliminated from the semifinals as well after hitting 16 homers in his round. Wood's 486-foot shot in the opening round was the first of many balls to leave Truist Park over the right field wall, flying above the Chop House restaurant that looms hundreds of feet from home plate. The biggest drama in the opening round came when Raleigh and Athletics' star Brent Rooker had to go to a tiebreaker to determine who would move onto the next round. Raleigh got the nod by less than an inch on his longest homer, as measured by Statcast. They had both finished tied with 17 home runs in the opening round. As the semifinals got going, Byron Buxton couldn't recreate the magic he found in the second half of the opening round, only hitting seven home runs in the semifinals. The Minnesota Twins outfielder had started slow but ended up slugging 20 homers in the first round. Caminero advanced to the finals after his eighth home run as his sweet, easy swing sent balls deep into the steamy Georgia night. He hit 21 homers in the first round. Raleigh put on a show in the next semifinal, simply mashing balls into – and over – the right field grandstand. He ended up with 19 homers, setting the bar extraordinarily high for O'Neil Cruz. The Pittsburgh Pirates standout put a baseball into orbit in the opening round, hitting the day's longest shot at 513 feet. Cruz once again dialed up the power, hitting multiple balls over 495 feet as he tried to chase down Raleigh's total. Unfortunately for him, the bar had been set just a bit too high by baseball's home run leader who is on a torrid pace in his breakout season. Cruz ended up with 13 long balls, setting up a final between Caminero and Raleigh. Raleigh will take the $1 million dollar winner's purse and bragging rights into Tuesday's All-Star Game, where he will bat fourth for the American League squad.
