Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez has special powder-blue bats for Home Run Derby
Royals catcher Salvador Perez has little to lose in Monday night’s Home Run Derby as part of the All-Star Game festivities in Denver.
The oddsmakers certainly don’t like Perez’s chances of winning his first-round matchup against the Mets’ Pete Alonso.
Oddschecker.com gives Perez the fifth-best odds (12.5% chance of winning), while Alonso is third (16%).. Angels star Shohei Ohtani is the favorite to win the annual competition (22.2%).
Bettors don’t think much of Perez’s chances either as he’s received the fewest bets.
Perez will be representing the Royals in the derby and Tuesday’s All-Star Game. For the derby, he’ll use special Royals-themed baseball bats.
Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer, the former Royals star, will be cheering for his friend:
The Home Run Derby begins at 7 p.m. on Monday and it will take place at Coors Field in Denver.
ESPN will broadcast the event and it will stream at WatchESPN.com. Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, Buster Olney and Marly Rivera will be part of the coverage.
There also will be a “Statcast-driven alternate viewing experience” on ESPN2 with Jason Benetti, Jessica Mendoza and Mike Petriello “will provide analytics-driven commentary,” ESPN said.
The telecast will show the exit velocity, launch angle and distance on every ball that is hit, the network said.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 10:56 AM.
