Ingrid Andress’ rendition of the U.S. national anthem during the 2024 Home Run Derby at Global Life Field in Texas on Monday sparked controversy and mockery on social media. The country music singer, who was tasked with singing the anthem as part of the event’s presentation, received an outpouring of criticism for what many considered a poor performance.
Social networks were flooded with negative comments and memes comparing her performance to Fergie’s performance at the NBA All-Star Game, which was also criticized at the time.
The laughter in the stadium stands, even among the Home Run Derby players themselves, and the derisive comments from netizens reflected the general disappointment with the performance of Andress, a four-time Grammy nominee.
Andress’ Home Run Derby performance, including her off-key voice and nonsensical chords, was among the most shared memes on social networks:
“My ears are bleeding. One of the worst renditions of the national anthem in history”. The Juice Box Journal’s Michael Schwap posted on X.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernandez was crowned champion of the Home Run Derby after defeating Kansas City Royals home run star Bobby Witt Jr. 14-13 in the deciding round.
Hernandez, 31, demonstrated his power by hitting a total of 49 home runs, covering a distance of 3.98 miles over the three rounds, to become the first Dodgers player to win the Derby. Kansas City, meanwhile, had never had a champion in the event.
Needing a home run to tie the game with one out remaining, Witt Jr. connected on a power hit that traveled a good portion of the field between left and center field, hitting half the wall.
Both finished their final two-minute stints with 11 home runs each, prompting extra swings. Witt failed on his first two extra swings, but then hit back-to-back home runs, one a 457-footer, giving him the opportunity for an extra swing. However, he failed to connect on his final attempt.
The Road to the Home Run Derby Finals
Witt Jr. beat Cleveland’s ambidextrous Jose Ramirez 17-12 in the semifinals. Hernandez, meanwhile, defeated Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm 16-15 in a tiebreaker in which both had three swings: Hernandez with two outs and Bohm with one. The two were tied at 14 after the three-minute segment and their bonus rounds, and Bohm nearly avoided the tiebreaker, but his last pitch landed on the warning track in left-center field.
Ramirez and Bohm led the first round with 21 home runs each. Witt Jr. started with 20 home runs and Hernandez had 19.
Pete Alonso, of the New York Mets, fell short in his bid to join Ken Griffey Jr. as a three-time Derby champion, hitting just 12 home runs in the first round.
Instead of a single-elimination bracket like last year, the four hitters with the most home runs in the first round advanced to the semifinals, making it a tournament-style competition.
Alonso hit a 428-foot home run to left-center field on his first swing, but couldn’t keep up. The others eliminated after the first round were hometown favorite Adolis Garcia of Texas, Marcell Ozuna of Atlanta and Gunnar Henderson of Baltimore.
“It’s disappointing, but I think it’s a blessing and it’s fun to be here,” Alonso said. “At the end of the day, it just wasn’t my day.”
Ozuna connected for the longest home run of the Home Run Derby, with a distance of 473 feet. Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels in 2022 and Seth Brown of Oakland in 2021 have connected on 472-foot home runs at this ballpark, now in its fifth MLB season.
Bohm, one of eight Phillies named All-Stars (a franchise record), has hit just 11 home runs this season, the fewest among the eight derby contenders. He mentioned that he would try to hit as many balls as possible to left field, and he did, hitting his 21 home runs in the first round that way.
“Who would have thought,” Bohm said after the first round.
Ramirez batted left-handed, a change from his strategies in previous home run contests, and different from what he had planned until a round of batting practice Monday.
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