David Ortiz Wins 2010 Home Run Derby

In baseball slugger David Ortiz's fourth attempt at Home Run Derby glory, Big Papi never ran out of steam and finally won Monday night. Ortiz used his experience and gave spectators a fantastic show Monday when he not only won the 2010 Home Run Derby but owned the night. Ortiz hit eight home runs in the first round, then unleashed thirteen in the second. He demonstrated spectacular endurance and made it look a little too easy when he hit eleven home runs in the final round. There were many gravity-defying line drives and insane homers on Monday night from players such as Matt Holliday, Hanley Ramirez, who finished second, and Miguel Cabrera.

At once special moment, his 6-year-old son D'Angelo (Son of Papi) Ortiz had only one question:

"Dad," he asked, "what place are you in?"

Not only did David Ortiz win, but proved to the world that he still command the spotlight, can still smash them out of the ballpark, and can still excite fans with his charisma and smile.

"Good for him," said Florida's Hanley Ramirez. "He's going through tough times right now. But I know he's going to come back in the second half and do what he gets paid to do -- hit bombs." Ortiz has been hitting those bombs for eight mostly magical seasons in Boston with the Red Sox.

Asked afterward if it was intimidating to watch Ortiz, his Dominican compadre, Ramirez, laughed and said: "No. It's fun. I remember watching him on TV. Now here I am competing against him. It was great. It was something I'm never going to forget in my life."

"You know, I'd never really seen him hit before this," said the Brewers' Corey Hart. "Me, I have to try to hit home runs. He doesn't. That's what's so impressive about him. He's got that rhythm, and he just keeps going and going."

Ortiz mashed 12,975 feet worth of home runs or nearly 2½ miles worth. His 32 homers rank third on the all-time list of most Derby homers in one night, and the 11 homers in the last round tied Abreu (11 in 2005) for most ever in a final round.

"He's got the perfect swing for this," said Torii Hunter, who spent time with Ortiz all night. "That's why he was my pick-to-click tonight. He's built for this."

After his disastrous April, there weren't many people who expected a night like this, and David Ortiz is still stung by the harsh words spoken and written about him.

"There are a lot of people that ... don't know how hard we work to play this game, how many ups and downs we have," he said. "Not everything is roses and flowers. You've got to deal with the downs so you can get up."

"Of course, he won. He was supposed to win," Miguel Cabrera said. "He's still Big Papi."

Source: ESPN