PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Francisco Pena to Participate in 2014 Triple-A Home Run Derby

Published on July 8, 2014 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


Omaha Storm Chaser Francisco Pena, Allan Dykstra and Mike Jacobs of the Pacific Coast League and Jesus Aguilar, Mike Hessman, and Dan Johnson of the International League and have been named the six participants for the 2014 Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby. The Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, July 14 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Francisco Pena of the Omaha Storm Chasers, son of Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, has already hit a career-high 15 home runs this season and is tied for the team lead. Las Vegas first baseman Allan Dykstra was MVP of the Double-A Eastern League last season. The 2013 Mets Co-Minor League Player of the Year has 12 home runs so far in his first season in Triple-A. Reno's Mike Jacobs has hit 100 homers at the Major League level, including 32 for the Marlins in 2008. They'll try to follow in the footsteps of former Reno slugger Matt Davidson, the 2013 Triple-A Home Run Derby champion.

The International League's newly crowned all-time Home Run King, Toledo's Mike Hessman, enters his fourth Triple-A Home Run Derby looking for his first win in the event. Hessman crushed his 259th career home run in the IL on June 30 to break the record held for over seven decades by Buffalo's Ollie Carnegie. Current Buffalo slugger Dan Johnson won the 2010 Triple-A Home Run Derby as a member of the Durham Bulls. This year he leads the IL with 17 long balls. 24-year-old Jesus Aguilar has 12 home runs so far in a season in which he has made both his Triple-A and Major League debuts.

Fans will come to see Triple-A's top sluggers, but the star of the Derby may very well be the ballpark's primary target - the DBAP's Snorting Bull. Each home run hit off of the sign made famous in the classic baseball film Bull Durham will give those in attendance a chance to win steaks and much more, culminating with one lucky fan winning $15,000 if the Snorting Bull is hit a combined fifteen times throughout the competition. In the final round, 76-year-old local Home Run Derby legend Clay Council, who threw an unforgettable round of batting practice to Josh Hamilton in the 2008 MLB Home Run Derby, will pitch to this year's Triple-A finalists.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 8, 2014


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