Toasted Dolphin

Giancarlo Stanton dominates HR Derby in every possible way

Stanton didn’t just hit them in high volume and for great distance (18 of the 19 longest at this Derby). He hit them with efficiency.

His 61 home runs came on 120 swings. He had three streaks of five home runs on five swings. Only two other players had a streak of at least five in a row – Mark Trumbo (who homered on nine straight swings to win the first-round) and Carlos Gonzalez (who had a run of five in a row).

Stanton hit 24 home runs in the first round, matching Bobby Abreu (2005 under the old Derby rules) for the second-most in any Home Run Derby round (Josh Hamilton had 28 in 2008). He had 17 more in the semifinals and then hit 20 in the final round to win.

Stanton won going first in each of the three rounds. In the last two years, the player going last has won every head-to-head matchup, except the three matchups featuring Stanton.

The Finals were a rematch of the 2014 semifinals between Stanton and defending champion Todd Frazier, who are inextricably linked by the odd score of that one -- Frazier 1, Stanton 0.

This time around, Stanton won easily, 20-13. Frazier did join Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa as the only players to reach the Finals in three straight years.

Should anyone be surprised Stanton won?