Major League Baseball
Home Run Derby winner Tejada big hit for local family

By Larry Stone
Seattle Times staff reporter

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HOUSTON — When all 14 living members of the 500 home-run club were introduced before last night's Home Run Derby, Miguel Tejada's reaction was the same as almost everyone else.

"When I saw those guys walking in front of me, I got chills," Tejada said.

Two hours later, when Paula Bowen of Renton watched Tejada launch the home run that pushed him past hometown favorite Lance Berkman of the Astros for the Derby title, she had the same reaction.

"Oh, my heart started pounding," she said. "I was just thinking, 'Oh, my goodness. This is actually happening.' "

What was happening was pretty amazing. Bowen had been matched with Tejada in a national contest sponsored by Century 21, and his feat won her $250,000 toward a new house.

It was hard to tell afterward who was most excited — Tejada, who upstaged 500-homer members Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa with the most prolific performances in Derby history, or Bowen, who admitted that she had only "slightly heard of" Tejada before the contest at Minute Maid Park.

In fact, she had been hoping to draw Ken Griffey Jr., a longtime favorite of the rabid Mariners fan. She actually drew Jason Giambi of the Yankees initially, but Giambi pulled out Sunday night at the behest of the Yankees, who didn't want him to push himself after his recent bout with intestinal parasites.

So her substitute slugger was Tejada, a Mariners free-agent target in the offseason who merely set a Derby record for the most homers in one round (15 in the second) and most homers overall (27).

As Bonds (11 total homers in two rounds), Palmeiro (14) and Sosa (five, eliminated in the first round) fell by the wayside, Tejada was matched in the finals with Berkman, who electrified the crowd in the second round by hitting five of his 10 homers completely out of the ballpark in left field.

That performance — which included a 493-foot blast — caused both Bonds, kneeling near the base line, and former president George Bush, sitting in the front row behind home plate, to leap up in excitement.
 
But in the finals, a weary Berkman — a switch-hitter who chose to bat right-handed — managed just four homers.

Tejada, who in the second round launched the longest drive of the night, 497 feet, was up last. He matched Berkman with only one out (any swing not resulting in a home run) of his 10 outs expended.

Tejada promptly made four more outs before hitting a relatively modest homer to left that made him — and Bowen — a winner.

"Winning the Home Run Derby is great, but I think it's more important that she got a house," Tejada said. "That's unbelievable. I'm really happy to see people win a house because of the job that I do."

Bowen found out in June that she was one of eight finalists in the sweepstakes that her husband, Joel, had entered on her behalf. She is a stay-at-home mom and former preschool teacher; he is a business analyst in Redmond. They live in a Renton apartment with her 18-year-old stepson and three sons, age 16, 14 and 2½.

An apartment for now, anyway. She said the family planned to use her winnings for a down payment on a house in the Renton area.

Ushered into a news conference with Tejada after the game, Bowen was asked if she would be inviting Tejada to her house for dinner.

"Oh, you bet," she said.

"I will be there, that's great," Tejada chimed in.

Tejada, meanwhile, was bubbling with excitement as he bounced his two young children on his knee.

"I never thought I was going to be in the Home Run Derby in my life," he said. "I know I can hit home runs, but I never think that I'm a home-run hitter.

"When I took my first swing, I say inside my heart, 'Miggy, you're not going to win, there's so many home-run hitters that you're not going to win. Just try to enjoy it the most you can.' When I won, my heart went down. I said, 'Oh, my God, I'm winning the Home Run Derby.' I usually watch it from my house, on TV, and to win is unbelievable."

Also unbelievable was the accumulation of legendary home-run talent at the event — 8,083 combined homers among the living 500-homer men, ranging from all-time king Hank Aaron's 755 to Griffey's 501.

Ten of the top 11 all-time were there, all except the late Babe Ruth. Aaron, Bonds (681), Willie Mays (660), Frank Robinson (586), Mark McGwire (583), Harmon Killebrew (573), Reggie Jackson (563), Sosa (555), Mike Schmidt (548), and Palmeiro (541).

The others in the house were Willie McCovey (521), Ernie Banks (512), Eddie Murray (504) and Griffey.

Aaron firmly believes his spot at the top eventually will be claimed by Bonds.

"I think he will," Aaron said. "It wouldn't bother me one bit. I had it for 30 years. I got a nickel and a cup of coffee for it."

McGwire added of Bonds: "It's up to him and his body and what he wants to do. It's a matter of time. I wish they wouldn't walk him so much."

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com

American League		B/T	Age	G	Avg.	HR	RBI
1. CF	Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle	L/R	30	4	.319	3	30
2. C	Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit	R/R	32	11	.376	10	57
3. RF	Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim	R/R	28	5	.345	20	71
4. LF	Manny Ramirez, Boston	R/R	32	8	.342	22	63
5. 3B	Alex Rodriguez, New York	R/R	28	7	.276	19	50
6. 1B	Jason Giambi, New York	L/R	33	5	.239	11	31
7. SS	Derek Jeter, New York	R/R	30	6	.273	13	40
8. 2B	Alfonso Soriano, Texas	R/R	28	3	.292	13	48
9. P	Mark Mulder, Oakland	L/L	26	2	10-2, 2.90
National League		B/T	Age	G	Avg.	HR	RBI
1. SS	Edgar Renteria, St. Louis	R/R	28	4	.287	4	34
2. 1B	Albert Pujols, St. Louis	R/R	24	3	.304	21	57
3. LF	Barry Bonds, San Francisco	L/L	39	13	.354	22	45
4. 3B	Scott Rolen, St. Louis	R/R	29	3	.342	18	77
5. RF	Sammy Sosa, Chicago	R/R	35	7	.276	14	33
6. C	Mike Piazza, New York	R/R	33	10	.312	16	39
7. CF	Lance Berkman, Houston	S/L	28	3	.305	16	59
8. 2B	Jeff Kent, Houston	R/R	34	4	.293	10	52
9. P	Roger Clemens, Houston	R/R	41	10	10-2, 2.63