Prince Fielder put on a show for fans of the Home Run Derby — if there are any left — on Monday night as he won the event for the second time and hit some absolute bombs in the process. Fielder hit the four longest homers of the night, two of which traveled an estimated 476 feet. In the final round, Fielder defeated Jose Bautista by a score of 12-7. Bautista was considered by many to be the favorite heading into the contest, but Fielder earned the victory by hitting some shots that probably just landed a few hours ago.
According to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Bautista took the “Talladega Nights” approach when asked about being the runner up.
Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista: “It’s like Ricky Bobby said: ‘If you’re not first, you’re last.’ That’s the way I look at things.”
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 10, 2012
While this sounds like a hilarious reference to American comedy from a player born in the Dominican Republic, David Brown of Big League Stew — who asked Bastian about the quote — said he was told Bautista did not say it in a joking manner and even shot a reporter a dirty look for asking him if he was upset about losing. Being angry that you came in second in one of the most irrelevant sporting events of the calendar year? Now that’s what I call a competitor. On the bright side, Bautista had a much better night all-around than the one Robinson Cano had.
Photo credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE
