Vladdy claims HR Derby crown with finals-record 25 bombs

The Guerreros are officially kings of the Home Run Derby.

Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. survived a late charge from Randy Arozarena to win his first career derby title at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Guerrero hit a finals-record 25 homers to clinch the title, ultimately defeating Arozarena 25-23 in the last round.

The win makes Guerrero and his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., the first father-son duo to be crowned Home Run Derby champions. Vladimir Sr. won the 2007 derby in San Francisco.

Guerrero needed just 72 total homers to win the title, a figure that places fourth all-time in a single derby. He's now hit 163 homers across two derby appearances, placing him second all-time behind Pete Alonso.

The 24-year-old, born in Montreal, is the first Blue Jays player to win a derby. He also joins Justin Morneau (2008) as the only Canadian-born players to win.

This year's event featured a Home Run Derby-record 341 home runs throughout the evening.

Check out coverage from the entire derby below:

Round 2

(6) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. vs. (7) Julio Rodriguez

Rodriguez dug himself a bit of a hole after his amazing first round, hitting only 20 in Round 2 and leaving the door wide open for Guerrero to move on.

And Vladdy did not miss. The Blue Jays slugger spoiled the home crowd's party by hitting his 20th homer as time expired, then eliminating J-Rod with a walk-off shot in bonus time to reach the final.

This is the second time that Guerrero has reached the final round. He got there as a rookie in 2019, but lost to Alonso.

(1) Luis Robert Jr. vs. (5) Randy Arozarena

Arozarena set the bar high for the top-seeded Robert, smashing 35 home runs in the second round. That's tied with Alonso's first round in 2021 for the fourth-most homers in a single round ever. His 59 homers through two rounds currently sit tied for sixth all-time in a single derby.

Robert put up a respectable 22 homers, but was nowhere close to catching Arozarena, who advanced to the final with ease. His second round did include one highlight, a 484-foot homer that was the longest of Monday's contest to that point.

Round 1

(2) Pete Alonso vs. (7) Julio Rodriguez

There's no place like home.

Backed by an adoring and loud crowd of Mariners fans, Rodriguez picked up where he left off last year by crushing 32 homers before bonus time, en route to finishing his first round with 41 bombs. That made him the only player ever to record multiple 30-homer rounds in derby history, while his 41 homers are a new single-round record.

Alonso, gunning for his third career derby crown, simply had no answer for J-Rod. The Mets slugger crushed a respectable 21 before the timer finally went. It's the second straight year that Alonso has been eliminated by Rodriguez, who also got him in last summer's semifinal at Dodger Stadium.

Alonso was working with a new batting-practice pitcher. His usual pitcher, Mike Friedlein, was unable to make the trip to Seattle due to a forearm injury.

(3) Mookie Betts vs. (6) Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero looked tired near the end, but still displayed his prodigious power throughout his time at the plate. With Blue Jays manager John Schneider pitching, he slugged 26 homers with three going for 440 feet or more.

That was more than enough for Vladdy to move on. Betts, participating in his first derby, only hit 11 homers during his regular time and didn't take his timeout.

Guerrero's first-round win made him the third player with 100 career home runs in the derby, joining Pete Alonso and Albert Pujols, per ESPN.

(1) Luis Robert vs. (8) Adley Rutschman

With his dad throwing to him, Rutschman put on a show in the first round. The switch-hitter crushed 20 homers from left side, then switched for the final 30 seconds and blasted another seven bombs right-handed.

That didn't faze Robert one bit. The White Sox slugger tied Rutschman before the end of his regular time, then eliminated the Orioles catcher with one swing after just 15 seconds of bonus time. Robert put on a show, crushing seven of his 28 homers 440 feet or longer.

Rutschman becomes just the third player to not make it out of the first round after hitting more than 27 homers, joining Shohei Ohtani and Salvador Perez in 2021, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

(4) Adolis Garcia vs. (5) Randy Arozarena

Arozarena busted out his lucky cowboy boots for the introductions, and they worked like a charm. The Rays superstar opened the derby by crushing 24 homers to easily advance, becoming the first Rays player to win a derby round. Garcia finished well back of his good friend in his first derby appearance.