Maybe we should consider Prince Fielder to the be the home run king of Missouri. After winning the Home Run Derby in St. Louis in 2009, Fielder crushed the competition tonight in Kansas City to win his second career Derby title. Fielder faced off with Toronto Blue Jays star Jose Bautista in the final round on Monday night, defeating him 12-to-7.
Initially, though, it didn't look like Fielder would be making much noise. He snuck into the second round with just five homers, only one more than Andrew McCutchen and Carlos Gonzalez, who missed the cut with four each. But from there, Fielder turned on the jets, smashing 23 homers in the Derby's final two rounds. Bautista had the opposite trajectory, hitting 11 homers in the first round, but only nine total in the two subsequent rounds.
Los Angeles Angels thumper Mark Trumbo had arguably the most majestic blasts on the night, but he fell to Bautista in a sudden death "swing-off" in the second round. The two captains, Robinson Cano and Matt Kemp, combined for only a single homer on the night.
For updates on the derby, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of the Cardinals, head over to Viva El Birdos. And for complete All-Star break coverage, visit Baseball Nation.
