Rangers Troll Themselves After Josh Hamilton's Home Run Derby Record Goes up in Smoke
By Sean Facey
This is a prime case of eating your words in real time.
The Texas Rangers tweeted about Josh Hamilton's seemingly-unbreakable Home Run Derby record of 28 home runs in a single round ahead of the 2019 Derby only for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to break it in the first round. But in the spirit of fun, the Rangers hilariously trolled themselves.
Oops! Spoke too soon!
Guerrero actually broke the mark of 28 twice, slugging 29 in regulation in the second round as well. Even his opponent Joc Pederson got in on the fun, slugging 29 of his own to kick off a back-and-forth battle for a spot in the Derby final.
It's a shame that Rangers first baseman Joey Gallo wasn't in the Derby, because he too might have had a chance at cracking Hamilton's 28.
The mark stood for over a decade until Monday's slugfest. Then Pederson and Guerrero laid waste to it, combining for a ridiculous 79 home runs in the second round alone.
At least Hamilton's already absurd performance gave way to an even more impressive combined output from Pederson and Guerrero. Even after that, though, it will still stand as one of the greatest Derby performances of all time.