GOING, GOING … Yoenis Cespedes of the Athletics rips one of his 17 first-round home runs as he surges to victory in the Home Run Derby last night at Citi Field — topping Bryce Harper of the Nationals in the finals. (N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg)
Robinson Cano is an All-Star player. It turns out, he’s an All-Star manager, too.
Though he was criticized heavily for his selection of Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes for the AL Home Run Derby team, Cano’s instincts turned out to be right. Cespedes crushed 17 home runs in the first round and defeated Bryce Harper in the finals, 9-8, to win the Home Run Derby.
“That was a great pick, Cespedes,” Cano said. “He was hitting the ball far, really far. That guy’s strong, man. Unbelievable. That was a great show.”
Cespedes didn’t have to save any energy for today’s All-Star Game, because he isn’t in it. He is the first player to win the Derby who was not chosen as an All-Star.
“It’s good to give a chance to a guy that didn’t make the All-Star Game so at least he gets the experience. And now he’s got a truck. He should give me at least two tires,” Cano said, referring to a pick-up Cespedes won by hitting the truck with one of his homers.
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Cespedes may have been a rookie to the Home Run Derby, but he participated in five in his native Cuba, winning one.
“It wasn’t 50,000 people [in Cuba], but it was 32,000 people and I wasn’t nervous,” Cespedes said through an interpreter after the win.
The 17 homers Cespedes hit in the first round were enough for him to gain a bye into the finals because neither Chris Davis nor Michael Cuddyer — the other players who advanced to the second round — had more than 17 in their two rounds combined. Cespedes decided to take some swings in the second round anyway, more than an hour and a half after his first round began, and hit six home runs. He hit nine home runs in the final with five outs left to beat Harper, and wasn’t bothered by the not-so-friendly dimensions of Citi Field.
“This stadium may be very difficult, but it’s not as difficult as Oakland and if I can do it in Oakland I thought, ‘Why can’t I do it here?’ ” Cespedes said.
Cano, the AL captain who won the Home Run Derby in 2011 and hit zero home runs in last year’s event, hit four home runs in the first round, the fewest of any competitor.
His NL counterpart, David Wright, was the last to bat in the first round. Wright, the clear fan favorite at his home park, hit five and was also eliminated.
“I would’ve liked to have done a little better, no question,” Wright said. “It’s what I remember the playoff atmosphere being like in 2006. It really was pretty cool.”
Last year’s Derby champ Prince Fielder (five homers) also failed to reach the second round, as did the Pirates’ Pedro Alvarez of Washington Heights (six homers). Even Fielder was awed by Cespedes, tweeting, “Cespedes…enough said. #ALPower #HRDerby #ASG” after his first round.
Winning the Home Run Derby was memorable for Cespedes, but he said it wasn’t his top baseball moment.
“I would say it ranks second in my career because in 2009, I was able to play in the World Baseball Classic against major league players and I was able to play center field in those games and that meant a lot,” he said.
The 27-year old had more home runs in the first round than he does on the season (15).
“I feel grateful to Robinson Cano, who asked me to come here and during the first round while I took my first five swings, I felt like I was really into a rhythm and felt like I could put on a show like I did,” Cespedes said.