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Washington Nationals Juan Soto tosses his bat as he participates in the Major League Baseball All Star T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, USA, 18 July 2022. Caroline Brehman, EPA-EFE
LOS ANGELES -- Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto, who turned down a record contract offer, won Major League Baseball's annual Home Run Derby contest on Monday, defeating Seattle outfielder Julio Rodriguez 19-18.
The annual event was staged at Dodger Stadium ahead of Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game.
In a championship showdown of Dominican sluggers, Rodriguez set the mark to beat off 18 homers, and Soto followed with 19 blasts over the outfield wall to claim the crown, the deciding homer flying 415 feet.
"It feels amazing," Soto said. "It feels tiring first of all, for all the hard work you put in, then it feels amazing."
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At 23, Soto was the second-youngest winner in Home Run Derby history after 1993 champion Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers.
"I just tried to square up and hit the ball because I knew I had the power to get it done," Soto said.
Soto has reportedly turned down a 15-year offer worth $440 million from Washington that would have made him the highest-paid player in MLB history.
That has pushed the Nationals, an MLB-worst 31-63, to seek trade deals for the star outfielder before the league deadline just two weeks away.
"Right now, I'm not even thinking about it," Soto said of his uncertain future. "I'm a champion and I won a championship for the Nationals."
Soto, mobbed by Nationals teammates after his victory, is making $17.1 million this season, while Rodriguez, 21, is on a one-year deal worth $700,000 with the Mariners.
"Being on this stage is surreal, honestly," Rodriguez said. "I just went out there to have fun."
In the semi-finals, Rodriguez ousted two-time defending champion Pete Alonso 31-23, and Soto downed St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols 16-15.
New York Mets first baseman Alonso, who ousted Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. 20-19 in the first round, was trying to become the first player to win the homer contest three consecutive years.
Rodriguez received a standing ovation after a sensational long-hitting display to eliminate Corey Seager of Texas 32-24 in the first round.
Soto defeated Cleveland's Jose Ramirez 18-17 in a first-round matchup of Dominican batters.
Dominican slugger Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, MLB's oldest player at 42, was saluted by the other sluggers.
"That was pretty awesome," Pujols said.
Pujols beat Kyle Schwarber of Philadelphia 20-19 after winning an extra-swings tie-breaker 7-6.
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