Trevor Story didn’t win the Home Run Derby as the home team representative on Monday at Coors Field. But in two respectable rounds, he gave fans plenty of sweet swings to remember him by.
Colorado’s shortstop blasted 32 homers overall, 20 of which came in his first-round win over the Rangers’ Joey Gallo. Story added a dozen homers in the second round before falling to the Orioles’ Trey Mancini.
“I swung the bat pretty good, but I got pretty tired and there was no getting around that,” Story said.
Using a black bat emblazoned with white “True” lettering, Story had 16 home runs in his opening round — including a 518-foot bomb to left-center — before reaching the bonus. He then tacked on four more, with one at the buzzer that had his pitcher, Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond, pumping his fist.
The Coors Field crowd was all-in behind their shortstop, whose days are likely numbered in LoDo considering Story will be a free agent at the end of this season if he isn’t traded by the deadline first.
“The support of the home crowd was something I was really looking forward to,” Story said. “I loved every second of that. We have great baseball fans here and they always show out for us. That meant a lot to me that they really rallied behind me.”
Story had support on the field from Colorado all-star right-hander German Marquez and Cardinals all-star third baseman Nolan Arenado, his former teammate. Marquez brought him water and a towel, while Arenado was Story’s hype man, as he pumped up the crowd to support him.
“That was cool,” Story said. “I asked (Arenado) to come out there for me, and he was all about it. Him and Marquez were pumping me up, and Nolan was firing up the crowd.”
Story’s last-second, 20th homer turned out to be key to defeating Gallo and advancing. After a slow start, the Rangers’ left-handed slugger turned it on in the bonus round. But Gallo’s would-be tying 20th homer came just after the buzzer, and Story advanced.
Story didn’t fare as well in the semifinals against Mancini. Looking tired and lacking the pop that propelled him in the first round, Story had just five homers with 1:18 left when he called timeout. He finished with 10 and then added two more in the bonus.
But Mancini, the feel-good story of the Derby for overcoming his battle with stage 3 colon cancer, cruised into the finals past Story. Mancini had seven homers at his timeout, then padded that number to 13 with 25 seconds to spare to eliminate Story.
“(Mancini’s comeback) is incredible and I have so much respect for him,” Story said. “His resiliency and his story is amazing. I got to talk to him a little bit about that and tell him that. What he’s doing is really inspiring. So yeah, I couldn’t have picked a better guy to fall to.”
Story’s 32 homers went a combined 2.66 miles and averaged 439 feet. His first-round performance broke the Rockies’ record for most homers in a single round of the Derby, and his 518-foot shot was the night’s second-longest behind a 520-foot blast by the Nationals’ Juan Soto.
"story" - Google News
July 13, 2021 at 10:27AM
https://ift.tt/2UMkd2A
Rockies’ Trevor Story puts on solid show in Home Run Derby, but falls in semifinals to Orioles’ Trey Mancini - The Denver Post
"story" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YrOfIK
https://ift.tt/2xwebYA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Rockies’ Trevor Story puts on solid show in Home Run Derby, but falls in semifinals to Orioles’ Trey Mancini - The Denver Post"
Post a Comment