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Betting Controversies Surround Home Run Derby
Some bettors are demanding a recount—or a refund—after Juan Soto defeated Julio Rodriguez in the Home Run Derby on Monday night.
The Home Run Derby is a popular event for fans to wager on and it drew a bigger handle at some books than Tuesday’s All-Star Game, according to The Action Network.
Lax enforcement of the rules may have opened the door for Soto, the Nationals’ All-Star outfielder, to get past Rodriguez, the Mariners’ rookie and current AL Rookie of the Year favorite at SI Sportsbook, in the final round.
Soto had 13 home runs with the clock reading zeros before his minute of added time kicked in. His pitcher then lobbed him another ball and he cranked home run No. 14, on his way to 19 in the final round, which narrowly bested Rodriguez’s count of 18.
The rules of the derby on MLB.com state that “A homer will count so long as the pitch was released prior to the timer hitting zero.” It appears that wasn’t the case for Soto’s 14th homer and some bettors are incensed.
Soto had +600 odds to win the event at SI Sportsbook early in the day and moved to +550 odds. Rodriguez moved from +1000 odds down to +800 odds and looked like a promising bet through the first two rounds after smashing 30-plus dingers in each in easy victories over Corey Seager and two-time defending champion Pete Alonso.
The buzzer sounding in the final round drew the most ire, but there’s also some debate about the feel-good story of the night: Albert Pujols going on a run.
The Cardinals’ legend competed in the derby for the fifth and final time and had a tough Round 1 draw against Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber. Pujols miraculously upset Schwarber, a popular bet to win the whole thing with the second-best odds of +290.
Some viewers believe Schwarber was wronged—twice.
The same thing that happened with Soto appeared to happen for Pujols. The clock struck zero and then he teed off on another home run. And in overtime, after Schwarber tied Pujols’ count, some believe the ESPN broadcast missed a Schwarber homer, which would have tied the score once again.
The derby used to operate under a 10-out limit, rather than a timed format. The new format seemingly opened up the door for a looser interpretation of the rules in the fun event since the focus is on speed rather than individual swings.
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Kyle is based in Washington, D.C. He writes the Winners Club newsletter and is a fantasy and betting writer for SI. His work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald and Gainesville Sun.