There was a bit of controversy surrounding Robinson Cano’s final selection to his American League HomeRun Derby team—his pic wasn’t an All-Star. But that didn’t stop Oakland Athletics left fielder Yoenis Cespedes from putting on an absolute show, according to ESPN.com.
The 27-year old rising star, who had been in Cuba just two and a half years ago, put up nine homeruns in the final round with relative ease, beating out Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper who had hit eight.
Cespedes’ last homer was a 455 foot shot way past the center field fence—his 32nd homerun of the night.
"You come for a show in New York. He put on a show," said Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tiger who is expected to start for the AL in tonight’s All-Star game.
Cespedes’ most impressive performance came in the first round, when he hit 17 homeruns.
"I felt that I was getting into a very good rhythm, and that as long as the ball was right over the plate, I felt like I was in a good groove," said Cespedes via a translator. "That was the key."
Also, he wasn’t just hitting them out, he was hitting them way out. The Cuban native put some of his homers in the upper deck in left field and some off the restaurant windows in left.
Cespedes has not been having the best of seasons, only hitting .225 with 15 homeruns and 42 RBIs. However, anyone watching last night, can see the potential is still there.
"This trophy will motivate me so that things continue to go well for me, and I just want to thank the people that believed in me, that thought I could play at this level," he said.
Harper had 24 total homeruns, hitting eight in each round. The only time he had more than Cespedes is in the second round when the Oakland Athletic hit six. Of course, Cespedes beat him quite handily in the final round.
"He's incredible," Harper said. "He's an absolute machine."
Cespedes was asked who would win in a HR contest between him and Los Angeles Dodgers young phenom Yasiel Puig.
"Not to be disrespectful at all to Yasiel," said Cespedes with ESPN's Pedro Gomez providing the translation. "I know him from Cuba, and this is not the type of competition he would excel at. He's not really a home run hitter. So I would definitely win."
The A’s outfielder also pointed out the great difference between playing in Cuba and playing in the Majors.
“It's far different from in Cuba," said Cespedes. "There might be two people at our games. There's only one photographer, and this is completely different and foreign to me. But I'm very happy to be here."
