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“When it’s on ESPN Classic,” he said, “I’ll say, ’Hey, I was in that, too.“’
Josh Hamilton amazed the crowd with a record 28 home runs in the first round, including 13 in a row and a few that almost left Yankee Stadium.
Morneau smashed eight home runs in the first round and nine in the second, before stunning the crowd with a 5-3 victory over Hamilton in the finals.
Morneau became the first Twins player to win the derby. Afterward, he was asked he had just pushed the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s upset of the Soviet Union to No. 2 on the all-time upset list.
“I think (Hamilton) just got tired,” Morneau said, after a hearty laugh. “He’s the one that put on the show tonight. I think everyone will remember Josh Hamilton’s 28 home runs, more than they’ll remember that I won the thing. But I’m just glad I was a part of it.”
For Hamilton, the first round was like living a dream. The first part of a dream, anyway.
The Texas Rangers outfielder said he dreamed in his sleep one night in 2006 about getting interviewed after participating in the home run derby at Yankee Stadium. In the dream, he didn’t see himself hit.
Maybe that’s why the stadium was pinching itself watching his first-round performance.
In the dream, Hamilton said, “I was able to show everybody how I was there, why I was there, and that was because of God’s grace.”
A recovering drug addict, Hamilton was out of baseball in 2006. He returned last season and has emerged this year as the story of the season.
On this night Morneau stole his thunder. He was the 2006 American League Most Valuable Player, but proof that he’s still largely unknown came when the man representing the event’s sponsor called him “Jason” during the trophy presentation.
Morneau wasn’t even invited to participate in the derby until Sunday — after Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro Suzuki declined invitations. Suzuki’s last 36 hits have all been singles, but is known for some prolific home run displays during batting practice.
“They ran out of all the good players, and then they asked me,” Morneau said.
Earlier Monday, Morneau’s father said he wasn’t worried about his son’s swing suffering from the derby this time.
“I think he’s smarter now,” George Morneau said. “He knows he has to stay within himself.”
George Morneau spent a few minutes chatting with Cal Ripken Jr., who relayed his own derby experiences.
In 1985, when Minnesota last played host to an All-Star Game, Ripken hit only one home run in the derby at the Metrodome. He didn’t compete again until 1991, when he won the event with 12 homers at Toronto’s SkyDome.
That year, Ripken went on to win his second American League MVP award that year, disproving the theory that the derby destroys every player’s swing.
Morneau hit five home runs at last year’s derby in San Francisco. After having Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pitch to him last time, Morneau picked Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra, who found his groove after missing with several pitches in the first round.
“I wouldn’t say I was the coolest cucumber either,” Vavra said.
