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TwitterBoston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz won the competition, blasting 11 home runs in the final round. Swisher said hitting a long ball early in his round relaxed him because it allowed him to overcome his greatest fear --- a goose egg. He knew if he failed to hit a home run, he would hear it from his Yankees teammates forever.
"I was like, 'Man, just hit one,'" Swisher said. "And after I hit one, I said, 'Just hit one more.' And after I hit four, I was done. It was fun. It was a blast."
Besides Ortiz, only two other participants, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera and St. Louis' Matt Holliday, had derby experience. Ramirez, Swisher, Arizona's Chris Young, Milwaukee's Corey Hart and Toronto's Vernon Wells made their derby debuts.
Milwaukee's Prince Fielder, the defending champion; Toronto's Jose Bautista, who leads the majors with 24 home runs and Washington's Adam Dunn and Cincinnati's Joey Votto, the National League co-leaders with 22 home runs each, sat out the derby.
Hart had 13 first-round home runs, but he hit none in the second round. Cabrera hit five in the second round and failed to advance.
The longest home run of the derby was a 497-foot drive to left field by Holliday in the first round. In all, 95 home runs were hit, and $573,000 will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America on behalf of State Farm Insurance and Major League Baseball.
"I was like, 'Man, just hit one,'" Swisher said. "And after I hit one, I said, 'Just hit one more.' And after I hit four, I was done. It was fun. It was a blast."
Besides Ortiz, only two other participants, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera and St. Louis' Matt Holliday, had derby experience. Ramirez, Swisher, Arizona's Chris Young, Milwaukee's Corey Hart and Toronto's Vernon Wells made their derby debuts.
Milwaukee's Prince Fielder, the defending champion; Toronto's Jose Bautista, who leads the majors with 24 home runs and Washington's Adam Dunn and Cincinnati's Joey Votto, the National League co-leaders with 22 home runs each, sat out the derby.
Hart had 13 first-round home runs, but he hit none in the second round. Cabrera hit five in the second round and failed to advance.
The longest home run of the derby was a 497-foot drive to left field by Holliday in the first round. In all, 95 home runs were hit, and $573,000 will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America on behalf of State Farm Insurance and Major League Baseball.
