CINCINNATI (USA TODAY) – In a sport famous for not using a clock, the introduction of one certainly seemed to breathe some life into baseball's All-Star Home Run Derby.
Adding to the drama, hometown favorite Todd Frazier had the last word in the final against Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson, hitting the tying home run in the final seconds and then drilling a walk-off homer into the left field seats during bonus time to defeat Pederson 15-14.
"Just hearing the crowd call my name, the adrenaline, those last minutes of each round really picked me up," Frazier said. "I appreciate that a lot."
The Cincinnati Reds third baseman, who came into the Derby tied for fifth in the majors in home runs at the break with 25, had the advantage of being the higher seed in MLB's new timed, bracket-style competition. And Frazier's presence in the finals kept the fans on the edge of their seats on a night in which an 80% chance of rain earlier in the day threatened to cancel the power-hitting showcase altogether.
In a nod to the threatening forecast, a five-minute time limit each hitter was supposed to have was shortened to four.
"You see the time. It seems like it's going fast, but it really isn't," Frazier said of the new format. "Four minutes is a lot of time and it proved vital today."
Taking swings off his brother Charles, Frazier had only five homers with 2:35 left in the final round, but tied Pederson's 14 with under five seconds left.
"You swing at everything once you're down, no matter how much time you've got," Frazier said. "When you get the opportunity, you just have to hit it out no matter where the ball's pitched. I felt like a little kid out there in the backyard swinging at everything."
Frazier then took home the title on his first swing in extra time – another new rule that awarded players an additional 30 seconds if they hit more than two homers greater than 425 feet.
In the new bracket-style format, the players were seeded according to their season home run totals. That advantage proved to be important as all four higher seeds won their first-round matchups.
Frazier defeated two-time champion Prince Fielder of the Texas Rangers in the first round and Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays on a buzzer-beating homer in the second. Pederson, meanwhile, needed only 23 swings to hit 13 homers and advance past Baltimore Orioles' Manny Machado in the first round. He knocked off top-seeded Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols to meet Frazier in the final.
PHOTOS: 2015 HOME RUN DERBY
