Jordan Walker Won the Home Run Derby. He Wants to Lead the Next Wave of Black Athletes Into Baseball
Walker earned a $1 million prize after hitting 12 home runs in the final round and said he hopes the win draws more young Black players to baseball.
- On Monday, St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker won the All-Star Home Run Derby in Philadelphia, defeating Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber with a six-swing rally and earning a $1 million prize exceeding his 2026 salary of $799,400.
- Walker's breakthrough came after a tumultuous 2025 when injuries limited him to just 111 games, but he retooled his swing during extended rehab and emerged as a Cardinals contributor after the team drafted him as a first-round pick in 2020.
- With each blast off his customized Iron Man bat, the 24-year-old silenced Philadelphia fans, displaying his Cardinals hat worn backward and his Liberty Bell championship chain; career home run leader Barry Bonds endorsed the performance, saying, "you got my trophy, too."
- Crediting Jayson Heyward as his role model, Walker said he wants to serve the same purpose for young Black athletes, positioning his victory as a launching pad for the next generation to pursue baseball.
- MLB data showed 6.8% of opening day roster players were Black in 2026, up from 6.2% in 2025, marking the steepest annual increase since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to 2018, with 20 of 64 Black players having participated in MLB-sponsored development programs.
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After winning Home Run Derby, Jordan Walker wants to lead the next wave of Black athletes into baseball
ordan Walker hopes his star-making turn at the Home Run Derby will inspire more young Black athletes to follow in his footsteps and choose baseball. Walker grew up outside Atlanta and said he was inspired by Jason Heyward, a Gold Glove winner and Black player with the Braves who debuted when Walker was 7 years old. The significance of representation in the Black community was never lost on Walker.
The Washington Post
Jordan Walker won the Home Run Derby. He wants to lead the next wave of Black athletes into baseball
Netflix earns smallest Home Run Derby audience since 2003
The first Home Run Derby on Netflix was also the least-watched in over 20 years. Monday’s Home Run Derby drew just 5.3 million viewers on Netflix, marking the least-watched edition of the event since 2003, when the Derby earned 5.2 million viewers on ESPN, according to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal. The audience for Jordan Walker’s win declined by 7 percent versus Cal Raleigh’s triumph last year, which aired on both ESPN and ESPN2 (5.73…
Jordan Walker spoils Philly’s Kyle Schwarber party, rallies to win Home Run Derby
Jordan Walker silenced Philadelphia’s boo birds by homering on his last six swings, chasing down Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the final round and becoming the first Cardinal to win the Home Run Derby. Schwarber hit 11 homers during his…
Jordan Walker encouraged Chipper Jones when he was a young Bravos fan raised in the suburbs of Atlanta and used to beg his family to take him to baseball games at Turner Field.
Jordan Walker's Dad Has Sweetest Reaction to Son's Home Run Derby Win
July 13, 2026, is a day that will go down in baseball history for the St. Louis Cardinals. For the first time in franchise history, a Red Bird won Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby. Many thought the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber would have home-field advantage at Citizens Bank Park, but things didn’t go his way. Instead, 24-year-old Cardinal Jordan Walker won the night with 31 total home runs. He hit six consecutive homers during hi…
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