PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pete Alonso will participate in his fifth straight Home Run Derby, with the New York Mets first baseman trying to win for the third time.
Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr., Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm also have committed to the July 15 event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Alonso made the announcement Sunday night on Instagram.
Alonso talked about it more in-depth Monday before the Mets played the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He said he wants to use whatever winnings he earns to refurbish amateur baseball fields through his charitable foundation. Alonso has donated portions of his previous derby prizes to the Wounded Warrior Project aiding wounded service members and Tunnel to Towers, which supports first responders and their families.
“It's something I'm very excited about and I'm happy they asked me because it's an opportunity to give back to the game,” Alonso said. “I want to inspire the youth, get more kids out there playing baseball across the U.S.”
Ken Griffey Jr. is the only three-time champion of the derby, which started in 1985, winning in 1994, 1998 and 1999.
Alonso won the competition in 2019 as a rookie at Cleveland's Progressive Field, edging Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero 23-22 in the final round, then repeated in 2021 at Denver's Coors Field, beating Baltimore's Trey Mancini by the same score. There was no derby in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Alonso was eliminated by Seattle's Julio Rodríguez in the 2022 semifinals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Juan Soto, then of Washington, went on to win.
Alonso was knocked out 41-21 by Rodríguez last year at Seattle's T-Mobile Park, where Guerrero took the title and joined Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (2007) to become the first father-son duo to accomplish the feat.
“I love participating because it’s a full stadium and the fans are there to see the same thing,” Alonso said. “I think the cool part of our game is seeing balls hit far and hard. I think it’s a great event. I really like doing it because growing up watching it, was like ‘If I have an opportunity to do it, I will.’ Taking me back to 7-year-old me, it’s a dream come true.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
New York Mets' Pete Alonso hits a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Friday, June 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
SHANGHAI (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner overcame a one set deficit to rally to a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.
A night after winning his 250th career match with a straight-sets victory, the 23-year-old Italian faced a much sterner third-round examination against the No. 37-ranked Argentine under the roof inside Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena that hosted play due to rain.
Sinner will next play either No. 16-ranked Ben Shelton, who beat the Italian here last year, or Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain.
Etcheverry produced the shot of the night with a stunning drop volley to bring up set point in the first set tiebreak, which he converted to take the lead.
Sinner began to better find his range in the second and after trading breaks midway through the set, the Italian found another opportunity to level the match.
The momentum was all with Sinner in the third as he broke Etcheverry twice more to advance in 2 hours, 39 minutes.
Fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev also came from behind for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Matteo Arnaldi to book his fourth-round berth against either 12th-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexandre Muller.
The 28-year-old Medvedev was forced to dig deep to level the match after the Italian took a tight first set.
In the deciding set, Medvedev's experience and composure came to the fore as he clinched a vital break in the ninth game and held firm to close out the match in 2 hours, 44 minutes.
Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who won the China Open on Wednesday for his fourth title of the year, plays his third round match against Chinese player, Wu Yibing.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina returns a forehand shot to Jannik Sinner of Italy during the men's singles match in the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina returns a backhand shot to Jannik Sinner of Italy during the men's singles match in the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Jannik Sinner of Italy, right, is congratulated by Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina after winning in the men's singles third round match in the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Jannik Sinner of Italy returns a forehand shot to Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina during the men's singles match in the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Jannik Sinner of Italy wipes his sweat during a set break in the men's singles match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina in the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts during the men's singles match against Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina in the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament at Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
