With five home runs in the final round, former University of Louisville All-American and current Augusta Green Jackets third baseman Chris Dominguez won last week’s Home Run Derby title during the South Atlantic League All-Star festivities.
Dominguez, an All-Star in his first season with the San Francisco Giants’ Class A affiliate in Augusta, Ga., defeated Hickory's Miguel Velazquez to win a replica of the "Black Betsy" 40-ounce bat used by the legendary "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, a native of Greenville. Dominguez advanced to the finals after winning a swing-off with Lexington's Kody Hinze.
The final home run for Dominguez landed on top of the four-story New York Life Building beyond the left field fence at Fluor Field while another of his blasts knocked out the light inside the "R" atop the same building's roof. "I'm sure it was one of the farthest balls I've ever hit in my life," Dominguez said in reference to his derby-winning blast.
A native of Miami, Dominguez enters this week hitting .272 overall with 11 home runs and 49 RBI in 74 games for the Green Jackets. Last summer, Dominguez hit .263 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI while playing for the Class A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and in the Arizona Rookie League.
Dominguez departed the Louisville baseball program following his junior season after he was selected 86th overall by the Giants in the third round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft. During his outstanding collegiate career as a Cardinal, Dominguez was a First Team All-America selection and a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year honoree. He is Louisville’s career RBI leader with 218, while his 25 home runs in 2009 are tied for the Cardinals’ single season school record. He ranks in Louisville’s career top 10 in seven offensive categories overall.
