Luis Robert Jr. competes in the 2023 Home Run Derby
“”, “providerName”: “Instagram”, “providerUrl”: “https://www.instagram.com/”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”:658, “contentType”: “rich”} , {“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “Todd Frazier was the youngest White Sox player to compete in the derby, losing in the final to Giancarlo Stanton at Petco Park in 2016. Robert is hoping for better results than his first Home run derby as a young player in Cuba, which he explained with a laugh on Wednesday.\n\n”I was talking to Adolis about that a few minutes ago. “We said that at least we have to break the record that we were in put up Cuba because we didn’t hit a single home run in this competition,” said Robert. “It’s definitely an honor to represent Cuba, my country. I’m proud of it.\n\n”We have our country left with a lot of sacrifices and trying to look for a better future and that’s what we got. To be on this stage now and to be able to represent our country is something that makes you happy and just proud. You carry your country with you everywhere.””,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”:”2023-06-29T05:40:05.306Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({ “preferredPlaybacks”: “mp4AvcPlayback” asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”:”video”,”description”:”Using data visualization, look at Luis Robert Jr.’s home run in two runs”,”displayAsVideoGif”:false, “duration”:00 :00:30″,”slug”:”data-viz-robert-jr-homers-in-1st”,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”GameTag”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-145″,”title”:”Chicago White Sox”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:145″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-673357″,”title”:”Luis Robert Jr.”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:673357″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”data-visualization”,”title”:”data visualization”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”analysis”,”title”:”analysis”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”game-action-tracking”,”title”:”game action tracking”,”type”:”taxonomy”}],”thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/e9tvpqhju0srtrwqxja3″},”title” :”Data Viz: Robert Jr. Homers in 1st”,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/video/data-viz-robert-jr-homers-in-1st”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”: Luis Sierra, a Columbia White Sox bullpen catcher who also does batting practice, will be the derby hurler for Robert and the duo will practice this weekend. Robert is looking forward to performing on the national stage and he’s not worried about the competition.” Having an impact on his batting games after the All-Star break.\n\n”He might be a little excited about it, but I am don’t think his momentum will change or anything,” said Pedro Grifol, White Sox manager. “I’m not overly concerned about it, but he’s a big part of this team. We need him to come back healthy and ready for the second half.”\n\nRobert is also keen to take a smart approach to the derby.\n\n”I’m not going to try to win every single ball because that can lead to problems,” said Robert. “I’m just going to go out and have fun. Hopefully I can do a good job and maybe win. But my main goal is to get out and have fun Outfielder Luis Robert Jr. came to the T-Mobile Home Run Derby thanks to a little encouragement from his friends.\nRobert was originally reluctant to enter the competition, scheduled for Monday at 7:00 p.m PM CT is scheduled at T-Mobile Park and will be broadcast on”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”})”:null,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-145″,”title”:”Chicago White Sox”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:145″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-673357″,”title”:”Luis Robert Jr.”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:673357″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”home-run-derby”,”title”:”Home Run Derby”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”scott-merkin”,”title”:”Scott Merkin”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”GameTag”,”slug”:”gamepk-717480″,”title”:”2023/07/05 tor@cws”,”type”:”game”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”}],”type”: “story”, “thumbnail”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/xn7psfn3darmaari16q4”, “title”: “Luis Robert Jr. joins Home Run Derby 2023″}},”Team:145”:{“__typename”:”Team”, “id”:145},”Person:673357″:{“__typename”: “Person”, “id “: 673357}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”: “mlbglobal08, mlbcom08”, “linkInternalFilters”: “mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”: “Major League Baseball”, “lang”: “en “} window.appId = ” /*–>*/
00:31 UTC
CHICAGO — White Sox midfielder Luis Robert Jr. came to the T-Mobile Home Run Derby thanks to a little encouragement from his friends.
Robert was initially reluctant to enter the contest, which is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Park and will air on ESPN. The 25-year-old stated several times that he didn’t think his game would work well as batsman first and batsman second. But Randy Arozarena and Adolis García, his Cuban compatriots and fellow Derby entrants, persuaded Robert to join the fun.
“We all said, ‘Let’s do it,'” Robert said of interpreter Billy Russo after announcing his Derby entry on his Instagram page on Wednesday.
Pete Alonso, Mets (who won 2019 and 21)
Randy Arozarena, Rays
Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Adolis García, Rangers
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
Luis Robert Jr., White Sox
Julio Rodríguez, Mariners
Adleyrutschman, Orioles
Robert is second in the American League and third in MLB with a career-best 25 homers, behind only Shohei Ohtani in the AL.
The White Sox slugger threw 11 long balls in June. He then set himself up for next week’s action with a three-run blast in the sixth inning against Chris Bassitt during a 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday at guaranteed rate field.
That 450-foot ride with an exit speed of 111.7 mph according to Statcast was such a secure connection that Robert looked down and paused at the connection for effect. When asked about that moment on Wednesday, he laughed, adding that it wasn’t a planned response.
“What he does offensively and defensively for this team is amazing,” said White Sox starter Lucas Giolito. “I’m looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game and looking forward to continuing to have him behind me and hitting all those home runs.”
It was in the offseason that Oscar Colás, the second pick of the White Sox according to the MLB pipeline and close friend and training companion of Robert in Florida, anticipated that success for the five-man talent.
“I knew he was going to have a very good season,” Colás said of Russo. “I knew he would be successful. I even told him, ‘Hey bro, you’re going to have a very good season. You’re going to hit 30+ home runs.'”
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn added, “When we originally signed him, he seemed like a 30-30 guy when he became the player to fulfill it all.” [his projected] Tool. … I’ll say right now, he’s obviously an all-star and is on his way to becoming one of the superstars of this game.”
Todd Frazier became the youngest White Sox player to compete in the derby, losing to Giancarlo Stanton in the final at Petco Park in 2016. Robert is hoping for better results than his first home run derby as a young player in Cuba, which he laughingly explained Wednesday.
“I spoke to Adolis about this a few minutes ago. “We said we had to at least break the record we set in Cuba because we didn’t hit a single home run in that competition,” Robert said. “It is definitely an honor to represent Cuba, my country. I’m proud of it.
“We left our country with many victims, trying to look for a better future. We could get that. To be on this stage now and to be able to represent our country is something that makes you happy and just proud. You carry your country wherever you go.”
Luis Sierra, a Columbia White Sox bullpen catcher who also does batting practice, will be the derby hurler for Robert and the duo will practice this weekend. Robert is looking forward to appearing on the national stage and he’s not worried about the competition impacting his batting struggles after the All-Star hiatus.
“He might be a little excited, but I don’t think his momentum is going to change or anything,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “I’m not overly concerned about that, but he’s a big part of this team. We need him to come back healthy and ready for the second half.”
Robert is also keen to approach the derby wisely.
“I’m not going to try to pull every single ball because that can cause problems,” said Robert. “I’m just going to go out and have fun. Hopefully I can do a good job and maybe win. But my main goal is to go out and have fun.”