In a duel between Dominican bats, Juan Soto beat his compatriot Julio Rodríguez to conquer this Monday the title of champion of the Home Run Festival held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (USA) as part of the All-Star activities of the Major Leagues.
Soto sent 19 balls into the stands to surpass the 18 home runs achieved by Rodríguez and thus be crowned the new champion of the long-distance hitting competition in American baseball.
“I wanted to make sure the ball did come out,” Soto said about his last home run, which gave him the victory.
“Knowing that I was going to hit second against Julio gave me a great opportunity,” he added.
The triumph of Soto, who added 53 home runs in total, thus ended the reign of Pete Alonso, who had won the 2019 and 2021 editions.
To reach the crown, which he received from Ken Griffey, Jr., Soto left his compatriots José Ramírez, Albert Pujols and Julio Rodríguez on the way.
Soto, who was in his second participation in the Home Run Festival, also became the fifth Dominican to win this tournament, joining his name to those of Sammy Sosa (2000); Miguel Tejada (2004); Vladimir Guerrero (2007); David Ortiz (2010) and Robinson Cano (2011).
“Julio, I, we are all very proud,” said Soto about the award they won for the Dominican Republic.
Seeking to join Aaron Judge (2017) and Pete Alonso (2019) as major league rookies who conquered this competition, Rodriguez put on his own show of power by concluding the evening with the most homers in the contest with 81. adding 32 in the first round, 31 in the second and 18 in the final.
Soto will receive a million dollars as a prize.
