Prince Fielder is The KING in 2009 Home Run Derby

Prince Fielder Home Run Derby King (Image: Newscom)

In the 2009 Home Run Derby, Albert Pujols was supposed to be king. Bashing in front of his St. Louis Cardinals home fans, Pujols was considered the favorite. If Pujols wasn’t going to win, then it had to be hometown hero Ryan Howard, right?

Guess again.

The king on of the Home Run Derby turned out to be a prince — Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers. In the final round of the competition, Fielder was able to out-slug Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers. Both Pujols and Howard were eliminated in earlier rounds.

Fielder hitting the ball hard is nothing new. On the season, he is hitting .315 with 22 homers and 78 RBIs. In 2007, he hit a career-high 50 home runs. At 25, Fielder is considered one of the best power hitters in all of Major League Baseball.

The longest blast of the night was a 503-foot bomb Fielder hit deep into the bleachers. After hitting 11 homers in the first round, Fielder beat Cruz 6-5 in the Home Run Derby Finals.