In what is already being touted as one of the greatest home run derbies of all time, Aaron Judge more than lived up to the hype with some mammoth shots, making it look all too easy as he brushed aside a game Justin Bour, NL rookie Cody Bellinger and Miguel Sano in the finals to take the 2017 Home Run Derby.

The Yankees got some long over-due (and comparatively weak revenge) on the Marlins for 2003 when the pinstriped duo of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge knocked out Giancarlo Stanton and Justin Bour in the first round, respectively.

The relatively recent tweaks of adding a timer instead of “outs,” and bonus time for 440 ft plus home runs made for a more exciting event, but one aspect of the derby played against the Marlins:

format definitely screwed us tonight.

our guys hit the 2nd and 4th most homeruns, yet they are eliminated in the 1st round.

GO:Gators, UCF Knights, Dolphins, Florida Panthers, Heat, and Marlins

Born a Gator, became a UCF Knight. U-C-F!

he who fears losing, has already lost.

#MJIJ'ing the way to victory

Posted by Gatorfan4life on Jul 10, 2017 | 6:26 PM reply rec flag

First Round

• The Minnesota Twins Miguel Sano led off with 11 home runs and edged out the Kansas City Royals Mike Moustakas.
• New York Yankees second year catcher Gary Sanchez was up next, belting an impressive 17 home runs including a 483 ft shot. Defending champ Giancarlo Stanton hit some majestic shots (the best being a 486 ft shot off of the left field windows) but came up just short at 16 runs and was upset in the first round.
• The Colorado Rockies Charlie Blackmon had a nice showing with 14 home runs. Los Angeles Dodgers Cody Bellinger hit 13 but the bonus time rule came into play yet again, as he was able to hit one exactly that far to extend himself an additional 30 seconds and giving him the time to surpass Blackmon with 15 home runs.
• The final frame of the first round saw mighty Justin Bour step to the plate. He thrilled the home crowd with a 22 home run performance, prompting me to joyously tweet toward Aaron Judge to “bring it.”

Aaron Judge definitely brought it, easily reaching 23 home runs (with one 501 ft long blast), defeating Bour and moving on to the second round. Even in defeat, Bour’s performance undoubtedly raised his stock nationally and likely raised more then one rival executive’s eyebrows.

Second round

• Sanchez hit 10, Sano edged him with 11 to advance to the finals.
• The rookie Bellinger hit 12, but everyone in the world knew this was Judge’s to lose after that amazing first round performance. Judge reached 13 to face Sano in the finals. The longest home run of the derby came here, as Judge smacked one 513 ft.

Final round

• Miguel Sano gamely hit 10 home runs, but it was Judge’s day and the NY phenom hit 12 to seal the victory.

So, in conclusion, while Bour and Stanton didn’t win, I think it’s pretty clear that America and baseball won. The Marlins also managed to exacerbate some Yankees fans, which is never a bad thing.