Reds 3B Todd Frazier won last night's Home Run Derby at Great American Ball Park, with the "hometown All-Star" outslugging Dodgers CF Joc Pederson 15-14 in the "final round in the first year of a bracket format." Fans dressed in red "chanted Frazier's name and cheered his every homer throughout the night" (AP, 7/13). When Frazier won the event, the ballpark "got louder than it has since 2010" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 7/14).
MLB was able to stage the Derby after weather forecasts initially calling for thunderstorms last night in Cincinnati did not materialize during the competition. The league did make a late switch to the Derby format, tweaking the rules about an hour prior to the start by shaving a minute off each player’s timed round and eliminating some opportunities for bonus time, helping complete the event in slightly more than two hours and just before another storm descended on the city overnight. Heavy rain and a tornado warning hit Cincinnati early yesterday afternoon. “Given what had been forecast (for Monday night), this is a huge win,” said Reds COO Phil Castellini (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
