Faced with enormous odds stacked against him and encountering boos before every swing, Jordan Walker put on a power display for the ages to rally and defeat Kyle Schwarber in the MLB Home Run Derby. Walker, 24, is the first ever Cardinal to win the contest.
With boos greeting him before every swing – and cheers following his failures – Cardinals' slugger Jordan Walker continued his storybook 2026 season of redemption by stunning all of Philadelphia with long balls in his final six swings to win the MLB Home Run Derby.
With just six homers in his first 12 swings, Walker had to homer out to beat Phillies star and hometown homer hero Kyle Schwarber and he did just that. Walker had clouts of 455, 416, 407, 413 and 450 feet to become the first-ever Cardinals’ slugger to win the MLB Homer Run Derby.
Walker’s heroics on Monday night earned him a $1 million paycheck, one that dwarfs the $799,000 he will earn in pre-arbitration salary from the Cardinals. Walker’s parents, Derek and Katrina, and grandmother Normarene Merritt were on hand to celebrate the historic night with one of baseball’s rising stars.
“I was once told you don’t boo nobodies, so doing this feels really good,” Walker said afterward. “In all honesty, I was once that kid in the backyard wanting to be the Home Run Derby champion. So, it’s pretty nice that my dream came true for me tonight.”
Walker, 24, struggling mightily throughout his first three MLB seasons, getting sent to the Minor Leagues in each season. However, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound slugger has finally found his footing and become the superstar he and the Cardinals always thought he could become.
“Obviously, what I always told myself was to keep my head up,” Walker told the Netflix set that awarded him with the silver trophy and the $1 million prize money. “From where I was last year to this year, life turns around fast. In all honest, it was tough and it was tough to keep my head up sometimes, but I kept going.
“Honestly, I had the best teammates around me, I had the best staff around me and the best family around me as well. That kept me going, so that was super important.”
Walker kept going and going all night long, hitting 13 homers in the first round to tie former Cardinals’ teammate Willson Contreras in the first test. Then, in the second round, he outslugged rising Rays star Junior Caminero 6-5 to reach the Finals.
Schwarber, the MLB home run leader in 2026 with 32 long balls, edged Contreras 9-8 in the semifinals and opened the finals with an awesome display of power. Schwarber didn’t homer in his first three swings, but then crushed long balls of 444, 391, 385, 396 and 423 feet. While Walker was in the bowels of the stadium, Schwarber was busy crushing 11 homers.
Walker homered over his final six swings to win
Walking to the plate as the partisan crowd booed him, Walker failed to homer in his first swing – eliciting loud cheers. But he responded to those jeers with homers of 420, 409 and 452 feet. He failed to homer in three of his next four swings, but went 440 and 438 feet with shots into the seats in left field. Knowing that his next swing would end any chances of the Home Run crown, Walker incredibly smashed six long balls in a row to disappoint the Philly fans. As the final 450-foot missile was sailing through the air, Walker raised his Iron Man-themed bat high overhead in celebration.
“How these fans got behind me and were going wild all night was cool,” Schwarber said. “I tried to represent these guys the best that I could, but (Walker) just went nuts, man. That was amazing to see. Great performance, and it will be great to see what everybody had in store for us tomorrow.”
Walker, who was picked as an All-Star reserve for the National League All-Star squad for the first time, can likely count on being booed when he is introduced at Citizens Bank Field and each time he comes to the plate on Tuesday night.
However, he wasn’t worried about that after the way he came through under immense pressure and showed off his superstar potential on baseball’s biggest stage on Monday night.
“Schwarber hit 11 homers out of 15 (swings) and I just told myself, ‘I’ve got some work to do,’” Walker said. “Being in Philly, with all the odds stacked against me, but in all honestly I came in here thinking I could win. I never thought I couldn’t win, and I think that helped me out a little bit.”
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