Mud Hens' Chad Huffman wins Triple-A home run derby contest

7/9/2018
BLADE STAFF

COLUMBUS — Chad Huffman made history Monday.

The Toledo Mud Hen became the first player in Triple-A baseball history to win two home run derbies as he won the event at Huntington Park.

Huffman, who also won the event in 2009 in Portland, Ore., as a member of the hometown Beavers, hit nine home runs in the first round in this event, then cranked out 10 homers in the final round to win the event. He was the oldest player in the competition at 33.

"It's just a different format," he told MiLB.com. "You try to enjoy it and hit it as hard as you can.

"Obviously [during a game] they're not going to throw you a belt-high fastball middle in — I wish they did.”

Huffman, who also was a part of the event in 2016 in Charlotte as a member of the Columbus Clippers, competed with fellow International League hitters Carlos Franco of Gwinnett and Joey Meneses of Lehigh Valley. The Pacific Coast League was represented by Las Vegas’ Zach Borenstein, Fresno’s A.J. Reed, and Memphis’ Patrick Wisdom.

The Triple-A All-Star Game is Wednesday in Columbus.