ATLANTA, July 10 -- Sammy Sosa put on a display of power Monday night when he thrilled fans with a series of mammoth long balls to win the Home Run Derby at Turner Field on the eve of the All-Star Game.
After hitting only two homers in the first half of the final against Cincinnati Reds slugger Ken Griffey Jr., Sosa responded with seven in the second half of the round. The last five homers averaged 475 feet, with the final blow a 508-foot bomb that landed just inside the upper ring of the stadium in left field.
That homer nearly brought down the house, as fireworks went off and the crowd began chanting. After making his final out, the Chicago Cubs outfielder received a standing ovation that had fellow All-Stars tipping their caps.
Sosa, who has been the subject of persistent trade rumors, hammered Griffey in the final, 9-2,
Griffey, who will not play in Tuesday night's All-Star Game due to a sore right knee, also has endured a rocky season. The defending Home Run Derby champion is hitting just .238 and the Reds have struggled after making a run at the postseason without him in 1999. He homered twice in the opening half of the final round but was shut out in the second half.
Sosa squared off with Carl Everett of the Boston Red Sox in the second round and sent the crowd into a frenzy when he launched a missile deep into the second deck in left-center field. The ball appeared to easily outdistance one he hit in the opening round that was estimated at nearly 500 feet. Following the blast, his sixth of 11 homers, the crowd began chanting his name.
Sosa provided an encore, homering 508 feet to dead center field four homers later.
Everett tried to match Sosa with homers on his first two cuts but managed only six.
Griffey advanced to the dream final but was unimpressive in defeating Carlos Delgado of the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1. Needing only two homers, Griffey recorded seven straight outs. Just as the crowd saw a final showdown evaporating, Griffey responded with a pair of line-drive homers to right field.
Seattle Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez opened the contest with two homers. Martinez, who is batting .354 with 23 homers this season, hit nearly all his balls to left-center field and was unable to take advantage of the shorter distances down the lines.
Hometown hero Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves followed Martinez and also hit only two home runs. Batting lefthanded, Jones sent most of his shots to the right-center field gap with his two homers barely clearing the wall.
Everett provided fans with the first excitement of the night, lining four of his six homers to left field. A switch-hitter, he batted righthanded and crushed a pair of long blasts to left-center field.
Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos hit one of the longest homers, a 454-bomb into the second deck in left field. But Guerrero joined Martinez, Jones and Ivan Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers as first-round losers.
A crowd of 50,118 attended the festivities, which were cut short earlier in the evening by a severe thundershower.
