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Kyle Schwarber Bows Out to Albert Pujols in Home Run Derby First-Round Exit

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber fell to St. Louis Cardinals future-Hall of Famer Albert Pujols in the first round of the Home Run Derby.

Author:
Ben Silver
Jul 19, 2022 10:59 AM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

History was made Monday night. Veteran slugger Kyle Schwarber was 10-years-old when Albert Pujols competed in his first Home Run Derby. Now at age 29 for Schwarber, and age 42 for Pujols, Monday night was presumably the final honorary competition for the future Hall of Famer.

Heading into the final competition of the first round, the high-water mark for the first round was Seattle Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez's 32, with the lowest total being Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramírez's 17. It would be reasonable to assume the aged Pujols would fall below Ramírez, but could National League home run leader Schwarber hit fewer than 17? Impossible.

Pujols started off slow and finished his first round with 10 home runs. As he came away from the batter's box, he was swarmed by his All-Star compatriots, honoring the man who had played the game for so many years.

Even before his bonus time was up, it was a sign of respect for the player who would surely fall in the first round.

Pujols added another three home runs in his 30-second bonus for a total of 13 before Schwarber came to the dish.

Schwarber started off hot, five of his first seven swings were home runs. But then, silence. He was able to muster just 10 homers before his full minute of bonus time, the same as Pujols after regulation, but with an extra 30 seconds to hit just four more home runs.

Schwarber couldn't do it, he hit only three more and the competition advanced to a one minute swing-off.

Here, Pujols finally came alive, mashing seven home runs and putting the pressure on Schwarber to top that total in just under a minute. Schwarber had set of pace of just 3.25 homers a minute in regulation, seven seemed a far off dream.

In Schwarber's swing-off, he came down down to his final second, with his final pitch needing just one more home run to stave of Pujols, but came up short.

Schwarber's finished with a total of 19, unable to catch Pujols and his total of 20. And with that, the number one seed Schwarber was bounced out of the Derby in the first round, bowing to the legend Pujols and further preserving his second-half swing.