Walker stuns Schwarber, becomes Cardinals' first Derby champ
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PHILADELPHIA -- As guest PA announcer Michael Buffer introduced him for the finals of the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday, Jordan Walker couldn’t help but grin. Buffer had barely run through the beginning of his script when the Citizens Bank Park crowd began booing. Hardly a soul in Philadelphia was rooting for Walker. Through no fault of his own, he had become the villain.
Here’s the thing though: sometimes villains win. Sometimes villains even put on a show. So it was with Walker, who overcame a cavalcade of boos to upend Kyle Schwarber, the overwhelming fan favorite, 12-11 in the finals.
“I was once told you don’t boo nobody,” Walker said on the field as he received his trophy. “So it feels pretty good.”
If anyone still considered Walker a nobody heading into the Derby, they can’t anymore. Shortly after Schwarber clubbed 11 homers to send the crowd into a frenzy, Walker found himself sitting on six with only three swings left in the finals. Under this year’s revamped format, batters who ended a round on a homer could continue swinging until they hit a ball that stayed in the park. Walker took full advantage, bashing six homers in a row -- including three in the bonus period -- to upend Schwarber. That made him the first Cardinals player to win the Derby.
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“I can't even describe how it means to win it,” Walker said, voice hoarse in the moments following his victory. “It was a lot of swings, a lot of pressure, but I think I just had fun no matter what. Like, every round, I was having a good time.”
So too were the 43,863 fans packed into Citizens Bank Park, which became a cauldron as Schwarber and Bryce Harper took their turns at-bat to finish off the first round. At that point, Walker was already guaranteed a spot in the semifinals, having tied for the Derby lead with 13 first-round homers. Harper did not advance, but Schwarber did, bringing the full force of Philadelphia’s support behind him.
As Schwarber gained momentum in the second round, hitting nine home runs to defeat Willson Contreras, fans began willing him to accomplish more. Every time Contreras hit a home run, fans booed. Every time he made an out, the seating bowl erupted in cheers.
From his perch near the home dugout, Marvel-themed bat in hand and bright-red Cardinals hat resting backwards on his head, Walker took note.
“My thought was, ‘Philly is brutal,’” Walker said. “I mean, honestly. But I think it's pretty special because they love their players and that's what you want from your home … I can't hate them, because that's their guy.”
Schwarber, the 2018 runner-up and current MLB home run leader, had already navigated through a field that included Junior Caminero, who owns the fastest bat speed in the league; Contreras, who seemed to relish his turn as villain; Harper, his longtime teammate; and others. With the crowd at his back, Schwarber saved his highest home run total for the finals, clubbing 11 before finally running out of swings.
That total briefly seemed like it might carry the day, as Walker hit just six home runs in his first 12 attempts. But he mashed two more in rapid succession. Then, on his first do-or-die swing of the Derby, Walker hit a Statcast-projected 407-foot blast that bounced off the top of the center-field fence and into the shrubbery beyond it.
“I was like, ‘Ooh, that one's not good for us,’” Schwarber said. “You tip your hat to him. They were willing against him, whatever they could do to try to will that ball to not go over the fence. And he was able to slow it down and be in the moment.”
In the stands, Walker’s parents Katrina and Derek soaked in the atmosphere as their son finished the job. Derek, one of Walker’s inspirations in the game, tried his best to convert his section of fans, high-fiving anyone within reach.
“What they kept telling us is, ‘A boo in Philadelphia is a sign of respect,’” Derek said. “They booed very loudly. They respected us very well.”
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For Walker, the victory netted him $1 million, a sizeable trophy, and a Liberty Bell-themed necklace that 2006 champion Ryan Howard gifted him. It also provided validation for a first half that saw him evolve from fading former top prospect to one of the sport’s brightest young sluggers. Before this season, Walker worked for three years to find his footing at the highest level, following a promising rookie campaign in 2023 with a pair of disappointing summers. In 2024-25 combined, he hit just 11 homers.
Then came this year. In Spring Training, Walker worked with the Cardinals’ hitting team on simplifying his swing. He now features the second-fastest bat speed in MLB behind only Caminero. And with a faster bat has come more power. Over his first 16 games of the season, Walker hit eight home runs, finally unlocking the abilities he and the Cardinals knew were inside him. He finished with 22 before the break to earn an invitation to his first career Derby.
“It’s clear that he loves baseball and that he wants to play baseball,” Katrina said. “I think when you’re clear about what your purpose is and you’re clear about what you want, then you keep trying [to find] ways to make it work.”
In Philadelphia on Monday, Walker showcased his improvements alongside Schwarber, Caminero, Harper, Contreras, Munetaka Murakami, Jac Caglianone and Ben Rice. He vanquished them all. With his parents, grandmother, sister and girlfriend in attendance, forming a distinct minority among the tens of thousands rooting against him, Walker leveled up on one of baseball’s most electric stages.
“As a kid growing up, my favorite thing to do playing baseball was to hit home runs,” Walker said. “When a competition is dedicated to doing it, I'm going to have fun.”