St. Louis Cardinals’ Jordan Walker competes during the MLB baseball All-Star Home Run Derby, Monday, July 13, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
At first, it looked like Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber would win the Home Run Derby in his home stadium. But a young Cardinal had other ideas…
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
In what was one of the most spirited MLB All-Star Home Run Derbies in quite some time, St. Louis Cardinals All-Star right fielder Jordan Walker hit six straight home runs to stun Phillies fan favorite Kyle Schwarber 12-11 in the final round of the Home Derby in front of a sellout crowd at Citizen Bank Park.
Walker, who was booed lustily by Phillies fans, was down 11-6 to Schwarber and was having some problems getting the ball out of the ballpark. But instead of allowing the pressure to get the best of him, Walker relaxed and calmly sent the balls into outfield seats and in the shrubbery in center field.
“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, you know?” said Walker, who is having a breakout season for the Cardinals, batting .294 with 22 home runs with 74 runs batted in and an OPS (on base plus slugging percentage) of .891. “As a kid when I grew up, my favorite thing to do playing baseball was to hit home runs. When a competition is dedicated to doing it, I’m going to have fun doing it.”
Meanwhile, Schwarber, who leads the majors in home runs with 32, said he felt the electricity of the crowd behind him and was too fired up in the beginning, but as he slugged his way through all three rounds, he left it all out on the field, falling one homer short.
“The first round, just stepping out there — and I was way too amped up — I could feel it from the first pitch,” he said. “I was just trying to go get it. I’ve got to slow this down a little bit because I’m way too amped up. They were electric all night. We felt the energy from pitch one. I can’t say enough about what they did tonight.”
Walker didn’t take any of the booing from Phillies, who jeered everybody not wearing a Phillies uniform, too seriously. He relished it, and he walked away with a million dollars, which is more than his base salary of $799,400.
“My thought was, ‘Philly is brutal.’ I mean, honestly. But I think it’s pretty special because they love their players and that’s what you want from your home — like, where you play,” Walker said during his post-Home Run Derby press conference. “I mean, I’d never hear people cheer so loud for, like, Schwarber and Harper. And those guys did their thing, for sure. But, you know, I can’t hate them, because that’s their guy, so I just got to play the game.”
Schwarber said participating in the Home Run Derby was special to him because of the enthusiastic support of Phillies fans who tried to “will” him into winning the contest.
“This is Philadelphia,” Schwarber said. “They’re going to want their guys to do it and they’re going to will the other guys not to. … I’m proud to be here. This is the place that I wanted to be.”
For Walker, winning the Home Run Derby had an even deeper significance. At a time when African American players make up just 6.8% of players participating in Major League Baseball, he hopes it inspires someone.
“I want to be a role model for the Black kids, you know, and I want more Black kids in baseball,” Walker said. “Hopefully this raises some awareness. I know a lot of them are playing basketball, [and going the] football route, but I want them to know the baseball route is open to them too. And there are a lot of kids that are athletic enough and mentally strong enough — Black kids that can play this game, and I want to see them do it.”
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