With a final total of 53 home runs, Nationals slugger Juan Soto won the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.
The star outfielder defeated Mariners rookie Julio Rodríguez in the finals by a score of 19–18 to take home the first HR Derby crown of his career. Soto will also receive $1 million of the $2.5 million prize pool after outlasting a stacked field of All-Star competitors that also included two-time champion Pete Alonso, Ronald Acuña Jr., Albert Pujols, Kyle Schwarber, José Ramírez and Corey Seager.
Rodriguez, who ended the night with a staggering 81 dingers, met Soto after shockingly erasing Alonso’s bid for an elusive three-peat in Round 2. The rising star eliminated the Mets All-Star after outscoring him, 31–22, ending his two-year reign over the event. Alonso won last year at Coors Field in Denver and in 2019 at Progressive Field in Cleveland; the 2020 edition of the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
