What we remember about Pete Alonso's Home Run Derby championship two years ago is his joyful success, his earnest happiness as he hoisted the trophy after surviving an epic showdown with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
What is mostly forgotten are his frantic gestures to his pitcher, his cousin Derek Morgan, who was clearly overcome by the nerves that can erupt if you're alone in the middle of a party of 40,000-plus people.
Morgan struggled to throw strikes, but Alonso managed to reassure him, coax him along in the moment and hit enough home runs to win. Alonso's rounds of 2019 are reminders that the Home Run Derby participants can only be as good as their chosen pitchers allow them to be. You can be the greatest athlete in the world, and Shohei Ohtani might be, but if his pitcher is saturated with anxiety and bounces balls in the dirt, there's nothing he can do.
Alonso called for a new pitcher this year: Dave Jauss, the Mets' bench coach, who has spent years throwing batting practice in big league ballparks.
In a recent interview, Alonso talked about how much he loves competing in the Derby and how special the event is to him.
What follows are the who's and why's behind the pitchers selected by the other participants, and other notes ahead of Monday's Derby (8 p.m. ET, ESPN):
Trey Mancini
When he was at Notre Dame, Mancini and Irish pitching coach Chuck Ristano talked about how the two of them would collaborate in a Home Run Derby someday. "I promised him back then -- half-serious, half-joking -- that he could throw to me if I was ever in the major league Home Run Derby," Mancini recalled in a Streamyard call the other day.
"He threw to me in the Big East Home Run Derby, and we won that."
Ristano and Mancini have remained friends since then, and when Mancini got the word he would be in the Derby, he reached out to Ristano -- knowing that his call might be received with some trepidation, given Mancini's recent successful treatment for colon cancer.
"I don't think he was sure if it was good news or bad news," Mancini said. "Getting to call him with that -- good news -- was really cool. I think he was fighting back tears a little bit. ... I think he'll handle it great. He's practicing a lot, I think he can handle the spotlight and handle it really well. He said, 'Your job as the BP pitcher is to be invisible when you're out there,' even though he deserves a lot of the spotlight as well."
The best advice he has gotten: "I talked to Vladdy [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.] the other day when I was on first base, and other than just enjoying it -- you have to soak it all in, such a cool experience -- he said it can get pretty tiring. I don't know if that means taking a little bit less of an effort level out of the swings, but maybe you want to pace yourself, maybe take a break at the right time."
Shohei Ohtani
Former Angels general manager Billy Eppler guessed that Ohtani might go with Mike Ashman, the Angels' regular batting practice pitcher who has drawn raves from Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and others. But Ohtani will work with Jason Brown, the Angels' bullpen catcher. Brown threw to Ohtani during spring training and the two of them joked about Brown joining Ohtani in the Derby someday -- but when Ohtani first asked Brown, Brown thought he was kidding.
A lot of hitters believe that the best batting practice, generally, is thrown by catchers, because they deliver the ball consistently from the same release point and without cutting action, and Brown is Ohtani's guy.
"I think he is going to hit majestic home runs," said Eppler. "We've seen some great Derby performances -- Josh Hamilton, Mark McGwire. We've been wowed. It's going to be that kind of show. ... There are some that are going to go real high."
A built-in advantage? Past Derby participants always talk after the fact about how exhausted they were, taking swing after swing rapid-fire while trying to beat the clock, and they advise others to conserve energy. Because of the demands of Ohtani's baseball life -- preparing to hit and pitch -- his daily regimen is designed for physical maintenance. Angels hitting coach Jeremy Reed said in a phone conversation last week that Ohtani has not taken any batting practice on the field this entire season. Instead, Ohtani has reduced his game preparation to a small series of swings in the batting cage before games, with flip drills.
"It's a pretty solid routine," said Reed. "Based off feel. Some machine work, 15 to 20 flips," and then Ohtani's ready to go.
"I can't wait to see it," said Reed.
Keeping a friend nearby. Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, will serve as the catcher for Brown in Ohtani's Derby rounds. Reportedly, Mizuhara has never played organized baseball.
Juan Soto
Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long will throw to Soto, as he has been throwing to him daily throughout his career. "I feel good with him," Soto said in a phone conversation Saturday. "Pretty decent speed, pretty decent control. He won't be scared." A moment later, Soto came back to that: "He won't be scared."
The advice he has gotten. Soto's teammate Kyle Schwarber was a finalist in the Home Run Derby in Washington a few years ago, facing off against Bryce Harper, and Schwarber told him that so long as he is putting the ball in the seats, he should stay on that roll and bypass the timeouts.
"But when you start hitting ground balls, that's when you call timeout," Soto said.
First up: Ohtani. When asked about the player they most looked forward to watching in the Derby, six of seven said Ohtani. Soto was the exception, which makes sense, because Soto faces Ohtani in the first round. "I really want to see Joey Gallo," said Soto. "And Trevor Story. I want to see how far [Story] can hit it."
Soto's sweetspot. "Middle up -- up and in."
Matt Olson
When the first baseman initially signed with the Athletics, after he was selected as the No. 47 overall pick in the 2012 draft, he went to Oakland, and during that time, his driver was a scout with the organization, Eric Martins. A few years later, Martins shifted from scouting to player development and worked with Olson as a coach in the Oakland farm system. Now Martins is Oakland's assistant hitting coach, and he will throw to Olson in the Derby.
"I hit off him pretty much every day," said Olson. When Olson was first engaged about the possibility of being in the Derby, he went to Martins and said, "If they ask me to do this thing, you're going to be the guy, right?"
Olson said that the right-handed Martins is consistent with his batting practice pitches, and throws with a little cutting action -- the ball swerving slightly toward the left-handed-hitting Olson, something the slugger likes.
The sweet spot. "I'd say middle-in, probably more down in the zone than up."
The guy Olson wants to watch. "Shohei is the first name that pops into my head. After the ball he hit in Seattle," Olson said, referring to the homer Ohtani clubbed into the upper deck against the Mariners on Friday night. "He's got some stupid juice."
The best advice. Olson spoke about the Derby with Matt Chapman, a former participant. "I've heard that you have way more time than you think you do, and you should not rush," Olson said. "You keep the smooth swings going. Chappy said you don't have to try to lift the ball."
Joey Gallo
Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley isn't the guy who throws batting practice to Gallo every day, but he is the person Gallo wanted -- because of the quality of his BP pitching, yes, but also because of what Beasley has overcome in his life. Beasley was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2016; he is now cancer-free.
"For all of the things he has been through, this is a great opportunity for him," said Gallo. "He's used to the big stage."
Gallo explained that when Beasley throws batting practice, "He's got good velocity -- not too soft, not too hard. Keeps it pretty straight, a cutter or two in there."
His strategy. "I'm going to just try to pull home runs," Gallo said, adding that he'll want Beasley to pitch him "middle, middle-in. I'll try to hit to right field -- that's probably the best bet for me. I don't want to try to hit home runs to center."
The best advice. "I would say, talking to people in the past, they have said to try to pace your energy out. Don't use too much energy early on, because if you do, at the end that will make it tougher."
The hitter he wants to watch. "Ohtani, for sure. I'm nervous about him ... I've heard some stories about this guy, hitting the ball over the batter's eye in center field. Upper deck. He's an exciting player to watch, and it's awesome to have a player from Japan in the Derby. I'm honored and privileged to be in this with him."
Salvador Perez
Official records are not kept about batting practice pitchers, but the Royals catcher will deploy a rarity into this event: A left-handed pitcher, Miguel Garcia, who is in his 19th year in the Kansas City organization and his 12th year in the big leagues. In a phone conversation last week, neither Perez nor his interviewer could recall the last time they had seen a lefty throwing in the Derby.
"It's the guy I hit against all the time," said Perez. "He's a lefty, I'm a righty, and it's someone I know."
We're talking about practice. Perez simulated a regular Derby round last week, applying the timing so he would get a feel for how tired he might be, and when he might call timeouts.
The old guy. Derby participants are typically in the early stages of their careers, but Perez is 31 years old. "I've never done this in my career, but I always wanted to," Perez said. "I've had seven All-Star Games, and I told myself that if ever had the chance to do this, I'd want to. It looks fun."
The hitter he wants to watch. "Ohtani. Man, honestly, it is amazing what he's doing. ... He's Babe Ruth. I thank God that he gave me the opportunity to see a player like him. To me, he's the best player in the game."
Trevor Story
The Rockies shortstop will draw on experience for his Derby pitcher: Mike Redmond, the former Marlins manager who threw to Giancarlo Stanton when Stanton won the Home Run Derby in San Diego in 2016. Redmond is the bench coach for Colorado, and in throwing batting practice, he bears all of the advantages that former catchers have. "It's that three-quarters arm slot, nice four-seamer, puts it wherever I like," Story said over the phone Saturday.
The preparation. Charlie Blackmon, Story's teammate, has been a past Derby participant and shared his memories with Story. "He gave me some good advice about training for it, getting my body ready for it," Story said. More than a week ago, Story practiced with Redmond on the mound, without the batting cage. Cory Little, a part of the Rockies' media relations team, kept time, to give Story a sense of how the competition will feel.
Home sweet home. Story knows Coors Field better than the others in the competition and is very familiar with the angles. "Straightaway left field is probably the easiest route" for a home run, Story said, "and it gets really deep to left-center. ... I'm not going to go straight down the line, but I'll go to left.
"Hopefully, with the home crowd, I'm hoping that's an advantage. Hopefully, I'm a little bit more used to the thin air, and can recover a little quicker than other guys. We play half the season in that park."