Jake Arrieta, Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gómez, and Nick Swisher all hung up their big league cleats a while ago, but their desire to hit dingers has never gone away.
They were the MLB stars participating in Home Run Derby X, a 3-on-3 co-ed competition built around power hitting and defensive hustle. It features four teams, each led by a former MLB player, a player from women’s softball or baseball, and a local college player. The touring event is an initiative of Major League Baseball.
Parkview Field was the first stop on this year’s tour.
Each athlete competing in the derby greeted fans upon entry at the front gate. Arrieta and Fowler were bombarded with fans adorned in blue and red, honored to get a selfie with two of their heroes from the 2016 world champion Chicago Cubs. They were more than happy to take them.
The derby began promptly at seven. And this isn’t your dad’s home run derby.
Each player gets two minutes thirty seconds at the plate. In this derby, players on the opposing team are in the outfield, and can earn extra points for their team by making catches.
Teams receive bonus points for hitting home runs through a target in centerfield. Batters can declare a “hot streak,” granting them five swings where every outcome doubles in value. They can also call for assistance from a teammate in the final minute if they begin to get tired.
If you’re like me and remember the arcade derby in the giant living room with big targets on Triple Play Baseball 2001 on PlayStation 2, it’s a little more like that.
The teams were named to honor Fort Wayne’s baseball and softball history.
- Former MLB pitcher Jake Arrieta, Ole Miss softball player (and all-time HRDX home run leader) Ashton Landsell, and St. Francis slugger Sam Pesa represented the Fort Wayne TinCaps.
- Former MLB outfielder Dexter Fowler, Oklahoma City Spark fastpitch softball star Jocelyn Alo, and Taylor University's Sam Gladd represented the Fort Wayne Daisies.
- Former MLB outfielder Carlos Gómez (in his first HRDX), College World Series winner Paige Halstead, and Indiana Tech sophomore Jack Ferguson represented the Manzanas Luchadoras.
- Former MLB outfielder Nick Swisher, Olympic softball player Alex Hugo, and Purdue University Fort Wayne standout Justin Osterhouse represented the Hoosier State Tenderloins.
Two teams face each other in a semifinal round. Once a winner is decided in two semifinals, they square off in the championship.
In the first round, the Tenderloins dispatched the Luchadoras. Then Fowler’s Daisies took out Arrieta’s TinCaps.
Even though his team was one of the first knocked out, it wasn’t for a lack of thunder from St. Francis’s Pesa, who said an opportunity like this in front of a hometown crowd was a dream come true.
“It’s electric and honestly, when you get up there, you block out all the noise,” Pesa said. “But I had a whole bunch of friends and family here, I see them in the stands. It’s awesome.”
Indiana Tech’s Jack Ferguson also didn’t let his team’s early exit bring him down from what he described as the coolest thing he’s ever done.
“I wasn’t expecting to hit as many as I did, so it was a lot of fun to go out there and just compete,” Ferguson said. “I had the greatest time, I can’t say that enough. It was so much fun.”
But it was Alex Hugo and Jocelyn Alo who stole the show, each capturing dozens of oohs and ahhs launching tank after tank into the stands, at the centerfield target, or careening off of the Harrison building in left field.
Alo is the all-time NCAA Division I home run leader, with 121 to her name as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners. The ball explodes off of her bat. Now a member of the Oklahoma City Spark, she said hitting home runs is her comfort zone.
“It feels effortless, and honestly I’d rather do this than play in a really, really big game,” Alo said.
Alo hit the most home runs of either squad in the second round, with 14 for a total of 20 points.
But the Tenderloins were powered by a strong combined effort from Hugo and PFW’s Osterhouse, leading to their team popping champagne over the Home Run Derby X trophy in centerfield at the end of the night.
Hugo has twice been named USA Baseball’s Sportswoman Of The Year, and just one week ago helped USA softball take home a silver medal in the Women’s Baseball World Cup, falling to Japan.
Between both rounds, Hugo hit 27 home runs for a total of 41 points, the most in each category for the night. She made it look easy.
"I think I was just trying to get in a good groove and trust myself and sitting back and trusting my swing, and that was the most free that I've felt in a while," Hugo said.
Swisher was the MLB member of the Tenderloins. He won the 2009 World Series as a member of the New York Yankees, but seems to welcome a celebratory champagne shower whenever the opportunity strikes.
“That burn in the eyes never gets old, bro!” Swisher said.
Hugo and Osterhouse were able to take out the Daisies before Swisher could take the final at-bat, which he says didn’t bother him at all.
“I was gassed after round one!” he said. “I’m telling you all, for real, pay attention to the Home Run Derby X brand, we’re getting this thing big.”
The teams stood together at home plate and watched fireworks as the night came to an end.
Home Run Derby X will continue to visit Minor League Baseball stadiums across the US in the next month, with stops in Albuquerque, Nashville, and Durham.
