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On Monday night, names like Josh Bell, Alex Bregman and Christian Yelich will take part in Major League Baseball's annual Home Run Derby. Hollidaysburg Area Junior High student-athlete Landon Perry will be there -- in person and on the field.
Perry won the MLB U14 Home Run Derby Saturday morning at Progressive Field in Cleveland -- site of Tuesday's All-Star game -- against nine other participants from across the country and Canada.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking at first, but then it just all went away," said Perry in a phone interview from Cleveland. "My dad just told me to keep calm and have fun with it."
The 10 participants were either 13 or 14 years of age. They advanced from more than 1,800 participants who tried to make Saturday's final in competitions that were held over the past few months.
During the first round, each player was given two warm-up pitches, and then 18 pitches to attempt to hit home runs. Two players then advanced to the second round. Perry, who went last out of the 10, hit 10 home runs, which qualified him for the second round. He also hit 10 homers before he even got to his 18th pitch.
A make-shift wall was put in place at Progressive Field that was 225 feet the entire way around the outfield.
"I play VFW and school ball and (in the Altoona Teener League) at Seitz Field, and some of those fields are like 320-ish and maybe 400 feet in centerfield," said Perry, who left his hotel Saturday morning at 6:05 a.m. and began the competition at 7:30 a.m. "It was pretty hard to focus on that at first, thinking that I could hit it farther than 225, but I was just trying to stay focused."
In the second round, Perry finished with 11 home runs, which tied him with the other finalist. In the tiebreaker round, each player was given one warmup pitch and then five pitches to hit home runs. After his opponent hit two home runs, Perry hit the first of his five pitches over the fence. After missing a home run on his second pitch, he hit the next two over the fence for the title.
"When we got there, it was just for fun. That is what the guys from MLB kept emphasizing," Landon's dad, Doug Perry, said. "They were telling us that the kids have already won. They said just have fun. Don't worry, you have a trip to the All-Star game and have fun."
The fact that Perry went last out of the group, and he was performing in front of his mom, dad, step-mom, sister and grandparents, did make for some anxious moments.
"He was the last kid, and when he started hitting … he still had those last three swings left (in the extra round) and I got nervous those last three swings, but I guess it was more excited than nervous," Doug Perry said.
Landon, who plays junior high baseball at Hollidaysburg, is in Cleveland for the entire All-Star weekend. He will attend tonight's MLB All-Star Legends & Celebrity game, as well as be on the field during Monday night's Home Run Derby, which will air live on ESPN starting at 8 p.m.
"I was just trying to finish in the top 5 when this all started," Landon said. "But then during the second round, when I was on a pretty good streak, I thought I had a chance."
Besides the Pirates' Bell, the Astros' Bregman and the Brewers' Yelich, also competing in the Derby are Toronto Blue Jays rookie Vlad Guerrero Jr., Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr., Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians and Pete Alonso of the New York Mets.
The winner of the 12-and-under home run derby was Ryker Parker of Charleston, West Virginia. Both Landon and Parker will be introduced to the crowd on Monday night, and then will have their picture taken with whomever wins the 2019 Home Run Derby.