Byron Buxton will be the eighth Twin in history to participate in the MLB Home Run Derby on Monday, July 15, at Truist Park in Atlanta. While we wait to see how Buxton performs in the event, let’s take a look at how previous Twins fared in the Home Run Derby.
Twins' complete history in the MLB Home Run Derby
Tom Brunansky - 1985
Brunasky participated in the inaugural MLB Home Run Derby in 1985 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, finishing with four home runs, which tied for second place with four of the ten participants. Dave Parker won with six home runs. In 1985, the Home Run Derby was two innings, and each participant had five outs per inning.
Gary Gaetti - 1989
The format in 1989 was the same as ‘85, except there were only eight participants. Gaetti finished dead last in the competition, held at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., with zero home runs. Rubén Sierra and Eric Davis tied for first place with three homers.
Torii Hunter - 2002
In the 2002 Home Run Derby at Miller Park in Milwaukee, the players who finished in the top four in Round 1, which consisted of ten outs, moved on to the semi-finals. Hunter finished in fifth place in Round 1 with three home runs.
Justin Morneau - 2007 & 2008
Morneau barely missed moving on to the second round in the 2007 Home Run Derby at AT&T Park in San Francisco, losing to Albert Pujols 2-1 in a swing-off at the end of Round 1 after both players ended the regulation of the round with four homers.
The 2008 Home Run Derby, held at Yankee Stadium in New York, is widely remembered for Josh Hamilton’s dominant performance in Round 1. Hamilton finished the opening round with 28 homers. At the time, the finals consisted of the two players who hit the most home runs in Rounds 1 and 2 combined. Morneau collected eight home runs in Round 1 before adding nine in Round 2, giving him the edge over Ryan Braun and Dan Uggla, who each hit 14 across the two rounds.
Although Hamilton gets more recognition for the 2008 Derby, Morneau came out victorious, hitting five home runs in the finals while Hamilton hit just three.
Joe Mauer - 2009
Mauer didn’t make it past Round 1 in the 2009 Home Run Derby at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. He initially tied for fourth place in the first round with Albert Pujols and Carlos Peña with five home runs, but lost the swing-off to Pujols.
Brian Dozier - 2014
Dozier competing in the Derby in 2014 was a special moment, as it took place at Target Field in Minneapolis. Dozier ended up with just two homers, failing to make it past Round 1. Morneau actually competed as well, but as a member of the Colorado Rockies.
Miguel Sano - 2017
Sano nearly gave the Twins their second-ever Home Run Derby Champion, but lost to Aaron Judge in the final round 11-10. Sano defeated Mike Moustakas 11-10 in Round 1 and Gary Sanchez 11-10 in Round 2 before losing to Judge. The Derby was held at Marlins Park in Miami.