Rays' Randy Arozarena Comes Up Short, Loses Home Run Derby to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
In a showdown between two young AL East sluggers, the more familiar name came out on top.
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. narrowly beat Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena in the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby finals at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Monday night. As a result of the 25-23 victory, Guerrero joined forces with Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero to become the first father-son duo ever to win the event.
As the higher seed, Guerrero went first, despite finishing his semifinal matchup against Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez just a few minutes earlier. Arozarena, therefore, had rest and stamina on his side, but he had picked up first and second round wins from the leadoff position.
Guerrero started slow, but built his way up to 20 homers over the course of his two-minute regulation period. The Blue Jays star doubled his bonus time by hitting two bombs over 440 feet, and he hit another five home runs in his extra minute.
During all of that, Arozarena was back in the batting cages getting ready for his big moment. Arozarena shed his flashy cowboy boots and carried them to the edge of the dirt before stepping into the box.
Arozarena one-upped Guerrero with 21 home runs in his first two minutes, but he failed to launch the long-balls that would have given him an extra 30 bonus seconds.
Guerrero defeated Arozarena 25-23, as the latter couldn't muster up enough power in the final seconds to pull off the upset.
Entering the skills challenge, SI Sportsbook gave Arozarena +800 odds to come out on top, which ranked sixth out of the eight players in the field. The 2020 ALCS MVP and 2021 AL Rookie of the Year is currently hitting .279 with 16 home runs, 58 RBI, a .855 OPS and a 2.7 WAR, putting him on pace for career-highs in each category.
Guerrero, on the other hand, ranked second in the field with +330 odds. The 2021 AL MVP runner-up is ironically putting up some of the worst power numbers of his young career so far this season, but he still has 13 homers, 58 RBI and a .274 batting average at the midpoint.
Arozarena and Guerrero will return to T-Mobile Park for the 2023 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night. Lineups for both sides were announced Monday afternoon, with Arozarena getting slotted into the No. 3 hole for the AL and Guerrero slated to come off the bench.
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