Tampa Bay Rays news and Links: Tampa native Peter Alonso wins the derby

To say that last night was historic would be an understatement.

In a year where baseball is seeing record numbers of home runs, the home run derby was no exception.

Chalk it up to the new format, juiced baseballs, the ‘fly ball revolution,’ or the players simply being better, the participants combined to mash a staggering 312 dingers, with 74 of them traveling over 440 ft.

Recapping the action

The most impressive performer of the night was clearly Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. With 91 homers in total, he also accounted for over a third (25) of the 440 foot bombs. In the first round, he broke Josh Hamilton’s single round record, and then got into an epic 40-39 (not a typo) showdown with Joc Pederson in the second.

All the while, Peter Alonso was having an impressive night of his own. Alonso, who was undrafted out of Plant High School in Tampa, made himself a three year starter at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He was drafted by the Mets in the second round of the 2016 draft.

Alonso took down Cleveland hero Carlos Sanana and then Ronald Acuna, Jr. in the next round, and didn’t need his bonus time to seal the deal in the finals against a fatigued Vladito.

All-Star action continues tonight

Here are the starting lineups:

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Morton sees action as he pitched in Sunday, and Brandon Lowe is still in the 10 day IL, so the only Rays player who will see any playing time tonight is Austin Meadows.

Links

• TWIRB: Interviews with all the the Rays All-Stars

• Home run derby by the numbers
• Stating pitchers, lineups, fun facts
• Presenting the 2019 MLB Unexpected All-Starts- Zach Kram, The Ringer
• The All-Star Game is Mike Trout’s show, and everyone else is just the chorus- Jayson Stark, The Athletic