Fatigue was not a factor Monday night for Ortiz as he beat Florida's Hanley Ramirez to win the derby with 11 homers in the third and final round.
David Ortiz had a consistent rhythm to his long-ball swing on Monday night, as he dominated his rivals in winning the Home Run Derby in Anaheim, Calif.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- David Ortiz said there is no strategy to the State Farm Home Run Derby.
"It's whoever gets tired faster," Boston's veteran DH said before the event.
Fatigue was not a factor Monday night for Ortiz as he beat Florida's Hanley Ramirez to win the derby with 11 homers in the third and final round. Ramirez had five.
Ortiz, who didn't commit to participating until Monday, hit 11 homers in the final round and 33 overall. The 34-year-old slugger, said to be on the downside of his career, could be changing some people's minds. He went into the break hitting .263 with 18 homers and 57 RBI for the Red Sox.
Ramirez, 26, looked overmatched in the final round. While he tried to hit line drives to left and center fields, the lefty-hitting Ortiz yanked balls down the right-field line for his homers.
Ortiz offered some help for his former Boston teammate in the final round. With Ramirez sitting at four homers, and down to his last four outs, Ortiz came off the American League bench to wipe the sweat off Ramirez's face.
The breather did not help.
Ramirez hit .301 with 13 homers and 53 RBI in the first half for the Marlins.
Ortiz hit eight homers in the first round and 13 in the second. Ramirez advanced to the finals with nine homers in the first round and 12 in the second.
Milwaukee's Corey Hart put on a show in the first round with 13 homers, but wore himself out. He didn't hit a single homer in the second round. Prince Fielder, Hart's power-hitting teammate, gave Hart some advice before the derby. He told him to take Sandy Guerrero, Fielder's personal derby pitcher, and to have a big appetite.
"He said eat a lot because it wears on you," said Hart.
Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, who advanced out of the first round with seven homers, didn't make it out of the second with five.
St. Louis's Matt Holliday (5), Nick Swisher (4) of the Yankees, Toronto's Vernon Wells (2) and Arizona's Chris Young (1) were eliminated in the first round. In each round every player's turn consisted of an at-bat that lasted 10 outs. Anything that wasn't a homer was an out.