Teoscar Hernández re-signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December and he’ll look to help the team defend their World Series championship in 2025. Hernández has another title to defend this season too: the Home Run Derby title. Hernández won the Home Run Derby last year, though he says he’ll only do it again this year if he’s an All-Star.
Here’s what Hernández said during a recent appearance on Foul Territory:
“Right now, at the moment, I don’t think I’m gonna go,” Hernández said. “But I don’t know if I’ll change my mind. If I’m going to do it, I want to be in the All-Star Game. I don’t want to go just for the Derby. If I’m going, I have to be in the All-Star Game.”
Several players, including Adolis García last year, have participated in the Home Run Derby without being an All-Star. García was a hometown Texas Rangers player though — the 2024 All-Star Game was played at Globe Life Field — so it was perhaps easier to sell him on the event than a player who had to make a longer trip for the Home Run Derby.
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Hernández is hardly the only player to put the “I’ll only do it if I’m an All-Star” qualifier on the Home Run Derby. This year’s All-Star festivities will take place in Atlanta’s Truist Park. The Dodgers will close out the first half on the road against the Giants. Going from San Francisco on Sunday to Atlanta on Monday for just the Home Run Derby without also being an All-Star is a lot.
In addition to the travel, the Home Run Derby is physically demanding. The timer forces players to take a lot of swings in a short period of time, and guys are exhausted by the end. A lot of players have been one-and-done in recent years, meaning they participate in the Home Run Derby once, and then never again because it’s so taxing.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the 2023 Home Run Derby winner, did not participate in the 2024 event despite being an All-Star. The same goes for Juan Soto, who won in 2022 but passed on the Home Run Derby in 2023. Pete Alonso won back-to-back Home Run Derbies in 2019 and 2021. He was eliminated in the second round in 2022.
Three players have won back-to-back Home Run Derbies: Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99), Yoenis Cespedes (2013-14), and Alonso (2019 and 2021). Prince Fielder (2009 and 2012) is the only other player with multiple Home Run Derby wins.
Hernández, 32, was an All-Star for the second time in 2024. He authored a .272/.339/.501 with 33 home runs in his first season with the Dodgers. His new contract is worth three years and $66 million.
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