Marquette, MI – July 15th, 2025 – From the young age of eight, Cal Raleigh had a dream of one day winning a Home Run Derby. This year, Raleigh would get his opportunity to compete in one, and he turned it into a family affair by asking his dad to pitch and his 15-year-old brother to play catcher for him.
Last night, we saw eight of the best home run hitters battle for a chance to win some hardware; James Wood of the Nationals, Brent Rooker of the Athletics, Junior Caminero of the Rays, Byron Buxton of the Twins, Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Yankees, Cal Raleigh of the Mariners, Matt Olson of the Braves, and Oneil Cruz of the Pirates.
In the opening round, the top four batters with the most home runs would move on to the second round. The remaining players would face off in head-to-head action to determine a champion. There were a variety of different scores from the opening round, from three to twenty one home runs. Oneil Cruz and Junior Caminero would lead the first round with 21 home runs. Not far behind was Byron Buxton with 20. The final spot in the second round would come down to 0.08 feet (0.96 inches) as Cal Raleigh and Brent Rooker would tie at 17. Cal Raleigh would get to advance due to hitting the longer home run.
The Second round would begin the head-to-head matches. Up first was Bryan Buxton vs. Junior Caminero, followed by Oneil Cruz and Cal Raleigh. Caminero beat Buxton without having to use all of his time, only needing eight for a spot in the championship. Cruz and Raleigh put on a show for their semi-final match as they combined for 32 home runs. Raleigh would get the advance in that one, putting his eight-year-old self one round away from completing his dream.
Raleigh would set the tone for the championship as he would get 18 homers. Caminero, now knowing he needed 19 to win, would finish his 27 balls at 15 home runs. Junior would get an extra 3 outs but wouldn’t be able to add to his score, making Cal Raleigh your 2025 Home Run Derby Champion. Raleigh becomes the first catcher and switch hitter to win the Home Run Derby.
If you want to catch more action from the All-Star showcase, you can tune into Fox tonight at 8:00 p.m. to catch the All-Star game.
