Marrero Wins Triple-A Home Run Derby
SEE ALSO: Triple-A all-star game rosters
CHARLOTTE—After being in lock step through the first two rounds with Pawtucket (Red Sox)’s Chris Marrero, Reno’s Kyle Jensen knew he had to put up a big number in the final round if he wanted to win.
“If you go first, you have to set the bar high,” said Jensen, playing in the Diamondbacks organization at 28 years old. “That’s what I did, but the other guy just went on a freaking tear. It was fun to watch.”
After Jensen hit 17 in his round, Marrero—the 15th overall pick in 2006 by the Nationals—seemingly homered on every swing he took, hitting 18 to win the 2016 Triple-A Home Run Derby Tuesday night in Charlotte.
And, thanks to a stretch of seven straight swings with a home run, Marrero did it with a full minute to spare.
“I knew I needed a lot of home runs, but the adrenaline just kept going,” Marrero said. “I kept going with the fans and swinging, and my guy throwing was throwing perfect.”
Marrero got in a groove with Mike Moore, a coach at the Carolina Baseball Center and a former catcher at Tennessee. The two linked up for a practice round in the batting cage, and both Marrero and Moore say they clicked.
“That was unbelievable. That was a display,” Moore said. “I just tried to put it where he wanted it. It was fun to watch him do it.”
Marrero hit 10 home runs in the first round and 16 in the second round, and the 18 home runs in three minutes of the final round gave him 44 bombs in just 11 minutes at the plate.
Jensen finished the first two rounds with the same numbers as Marrero, but took a much different route to get there. He went homerless in the first two minutes of the first round but exploded in the last two, hitting all 10 first round homers in the last two minutes.
“I was trying to get comfortable, trying to get relaxed,” Jensen said. “Once you get in that groove, you just have to go with it.”
Both Jensen and Marrero peppered the left field stands with balls, pulling balls off the scoreboard and onto a grassy knoll to the side of it. Each batter earned standing ovations from the crowd after multiple streaks of three-or-more straight swings with a homer, with Marrero’s streak of seven straight sending the crowd into pandemonium.
“Anytime you can go out and show the people what you can do, it’s a good time,” Jensen said. “But what he did? That’s impressive right there.”
Marrero said he didn’t think he’s hit homers on seven straight swings like tonight, but he’s thankful that he did after Jensen’s 17-homer round to start the finals.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this guy is unstoppable,’” Marrero said. “But I knew, if I got into a little groove, I had a chance. And it was fun. This is one of the best parks ever.”
Oklahoma City’s (Dodgers) Rob Segedin was the last batter in the first two rounds, leading all sluggers with 12 homers in the first round and putting up 13 in the second round. But he fell one homer short of a three-way tie with 25 home runs. Jesus Montero (Blue Jays) of Buffalo advanced with seven homers in the first round, but only hit five in the second round for a two-round total of 12.
Two batters—Toledo’s (Tigers) Chad Huffman and Riley Zayicek of Lake Norman High, Mooresville, N.C., one of the two high school participants—fell one homer short of the second round with six. Travis Taijeron of Las Vegas (Mets) hit five, and Trent Alley of Charlotte (N.C.) Country Day School hit two.
In total, the fans in Charlotte witnessed 143 home runs on the night, with Marrero’s 44 earning him the championship belt. He said it is the coolest trophy he’s ever won.
“It’s a memory I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Marrero said.
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