Allan Dykstra truly appreciated winning the Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby, but the first order of business for the Mets prospect was finishing ahead of Francisco Pena, a teammate the past two years.
"My goal was to make sure I beat Frank," Dykstra joked after the duo squared off in the competition's finals Monday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Dykstra, a first baseman for Las Vegas, needed just one blast to accomplish that in the finals. It came on his second swing. A year ago in an Eastern League slugging event, he didn't fare so well. He figured he was capable of a better outcome.
"I have enough power to have fun in this kind of competition," said Dykstra, who is tied for eighth place in the Pacific Coast League with 12 homers this season after belting 21 last year for Double-A Binghamton. "I only had to get one (in the last round) and I hit it pretty good."
Pena, who has 18 homers this season for the Omaha Storm Chasers, said he supported Dykstra.
"I'll cheer my teammate," he said of Dykstra. "One of us is going to win it, so have fun. … I got a little bit tired at the end."
Dykstra had support in another manner as well. He played collegiately at Wake Forest University, which is about 90 miles away, and so he drew cheers from the locals.
"It was good to represent the Demon Deacons," he said.
In the preliminary rounds, Dykstra was 0-for-6 on his first six swings before sending one out. He fouled one off his shin.
"The pressure with the first couple is pretty tough," he said.- team press release
1 comment:
Congrats to Allan Dykstra on being able to don the PCL Derby. If the Derby fits, wear it. Hopefully a sign of good things to come in AD's career.
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