Wood's 16 homers not enough to advance in derby debut

James Wood seemed to set the bar high enough when he kicked off tonight’s Home Run Derby with a solid number and several jaw-dropping blasts.

Little did the Nationals’ young slugger realize just how impressive the competition would be on this night.

Despite launching 16 home runs as the first contestant at Atlanta’s Truist Park, Wood wound up being the first one eliminated when the four batters who followed – Brent Rooker, Junior Caminero, Oneil Cruz and Byron Buxton – each surpassed that number.

Wood drew the short straw and had to bat first, leaving the 22-year-old with no way of knowing how many home runs it would take to advance to the semifinals. And he got off to a slow start, with only one of his first eight batted balls clearing the fence.

But the young man known for hitting baseballs as hard as anyone in the sport put forth a mighty swing at that point that got him going at last. His 486-foot blast off the roof of the restaurant in right-center field was longer than any ball hit during last summer’s derby in Texas.

Wood would add a 460-foot shot after that, but when he called timeout following his 21st of 40 swings in the allotted 3 minutes, he only had six home runs on the ledger.

He remained stuck on six through 25 swings, unable to establish a connection with Nationals third base coach Ricky Gutierrez, his handpicked choice to pitch to him. And then, at long last, they found their groove.

With six homers in a span of seven swings late in his round, Wood brought his total number 14 when the clock struck zero. And with two more blasts during a bonus round that continued until he made four “outs,” he set the official bar for the rest of the field at 16.

That seemed like a number that would give him a chance to advance. Until the subsequent sluggers put him in the rearview mirror. The Athletics’ Rooker immediately followed with 17 homers. The Rays’ Caminero took it a step farther with 21 home runs. The Pirates’ Cruz matched that total of 21, putting on an electric show that included a jaw-dropping, 513-foot homer to top Wood’s longest drive.

And when the Twins’ Buxton reached the 20-homer mark during his round, Wood became the first player eliminated from the competition. The silver lining: He didn’t finish last. The Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. never put up much of a fight and hit only three homers. The Braves’ Matt Olson also came up short with 15 homers, much to the chagrin of the Atlanta crowd.

Wood was hoping to become the Nationals’ third Home Run Derby winner, joining Bryce Harper in 2018 in D.C. and Juan Soto in 2022 at Dodger Stadium.