Ladies and Gentlement, Justin Morneau is your 2008 Home Run Derby Champion!

But that's not the real story here.  Josh Hamilton SHOULD be your champion.  Hamilton stepped to the plate in the first round and belted out a record 28....yes 28!!!...home runs!  Holy cow!  No other competitor in the field (Morneau, Berkman, Braun, Uggla, Sizemore, Utley, or Longoria) hit 28 home runs in the Derby across all rounds!

So how does a guy who hit 13 more home runs than his competitor in the competition lose the home run derby?

Here's how it works:  8 players (4 from the AL, 4 from the NL) square off in the first round of competition.  From these 8 players, the 4 players with the most home runs advance to the semi-finals.  This year, the semis consisted of Hamilton - 28 HR, Morneau - 8 HR, Berkman - 8 HR, and Ryan Braun - 7 HR.  Then, after the second round of competition the two players with the most home runs across both rounds advance to the finals.  That left Berkman and Braun on the outside looking in with 14 HRs to Hamilton's 32 HR and Morneau's 17 HR.

So, you'd think going into the finals that Hamilton is the odds on favorite to win with a 15 HR advantage, right?  WRONG!  In the finals, only the home runs in the final round count.  Throw out the past.  Throw out Hamilton's record breaking 28 HR first round (which beat Bobby Abreau's previous record of 24 in Detroit, 2005).  It's all or nothing for one round.

And in the last round, Morneau puts up a respectible 5 home runs.  Hamilton then steps up to the plate.  Visibly tired from his first round, he belts out a meager 3 home runs.

Contest over.  Forget that Hamilton just hit a season's worth of bombs with 35 HR across all three rounds.  Forget that his 35 HR is well ahead of Morneau's combined 22.  All that matters now is Morneau's 5 HR to 3 HR victory in the last round.

Unbelievable.  I guess I should congratulate Morneau for his victory.  And $250,000 was donated to the Boys & Girls club of America, so that's good.

But here's one for Hamilton.  You're the REAL derby winner.  Not that any of us will remember this 3 years from now, much less next year, but for one night you captivated us and reminded us how exciting the long ball is to watch.