The player with the most home runs in the preliminary round was Danny Putnam of Rancho Bernardo High School, who cleared the fence eight times.
In the preliminary round, players were allowed six outs, defined as any swing which was not a home run. Harney’s total of six home runs included three with five outs, and Chico’s two home runs included one with five outs. Lucy hit four home runs before his first out, but he did not hit a subsequent home run. Brad Miller of Vista High School bettered Lucy’s performance by hitting five home runs before his first out. He ended up with six home runs. After all 85 batters had made their six outs, Monte Vista led the team score with 11 on seven home runs by Hull and four from Metropoulos. Rancho Bernardo was second with 10, eight from Putnam and two from Jeff Speights. The top three teams advanced to the team finals, and a two-way tie between Bishop’s and Irvine needed to be broken since Blake Walker added to Fraley’s figure with two home runs and deVries’ four home runs and Lewis’ five homers matched the Bishop’s total. A sudden-death tiebreaker to send one of those teams to the finals began with both players from Bishop’s making an out without a home run. When Lewis homered, Irvine advanced to the finals without a need for deVries to bat. In the team finals, which allowed three outs per batter, deVries hit two home runs before his first out and hit two more after his first out. He finished with four home runs, and Lewis added two to give Irvine six homers in the final round. Speights hit one home run for Rancho Bernardo, and Putnam had two. Monte Vista matched that total with two from Hull and one from Metropoulos, giving Irvine first place and forcing another tiebreaker for second place. That tiebreaker also allowed each batter three outs. Speights had one home run and Putnam hit four, giving Monte Vista a requirement of hitting five to match and six to win. Hull had two home runs, and Metropoulos, who also plays football for Monte Vista, hit three balls which landed on Fallbrook’s football field, all clearing the track and landing on the grass. A fourth Metropoulos home run gave Monte Vista second place. “I’m lucky enough to have some talent, especially my first year. I think it’s good for the program; it’s good for the school that they come out and represent us in that fashion,” said Steve Dolias, the new baseball coach at Monte Vista High School. Irvine High School earned $1,000 for the first-place team performance, while Monte Vista High School received $500. “It’s nice to come down and play with guys you know,” Lewis remarked. deVries also felt that the enjoyment was the important aspect of the competition. “These are great people out here,” he said. “It’s not like you’re going out here just to beat these guys.” The individual semifinal round was slated to take the top 20 from the preliminary round, with a sudden-death tiebreaker resolving ties for 20th place. Fifteen players hit at least four home runs, and ten players had three home runs, including one from Mater Dei who left prior to the tiebreaker. The nine players in the tiebreaker produced four who homered before they made an out, and those four players advanced to a semifinal round of 19. In the semifinal round, which allowed each hitter three outs, five batters hit more than one home run. Jesse English of Rancho Buena Vista homered twice, Metropoulos had four home runs – three with two outs – during his turn at the plate, Struble belted two balls over the fence, Lewis led the semifinal round with seven home runs, and Fraley advanced to the finals with three home runs. Harney and Lucy both failed to hit a home run, as did preliminary round leader Putnam. “I was kind of hoping I would win to give back a little bit to the program,” Putnam said. “I did my best.” The intent to take four players to the finals was modified when the two-way tie for fourth place was not broken after four rounds. Struble and English both homered in the second round while making outs in the other three rounds, and both were sent to the finals. The final round, which allowed ten outs per player, also changed from the original plans when the derby organizers opted to retain the pitching machine. Originally a pitcher of the player’s choice was to be used in the finals, but a short rain delay in the preliminary rounds caused the pitching machine to be used to help save time. “Plus we felt that the kids were hitting it. It just made it a more consistent event,” noted Bob Lucy, the president of the Fallbrook Baseball Booster Club. As was the case with the semifinal round, the finals utilized an inverse order with the players hitting the most home runs in the previous round batting at the end. English began the final round with five home runs, including one with nine outs. Struble followed with three home runs, and Fraley hit two home runs in the final round. Metropoulos then came to the plate and produced 13 home runs before his ten outs, including four homers with nine outs. “Just got in a groove. Everything felt like it was nice and smooth. I just let it fly,” Metropoulos said. His performance in the team tiebreaker and his last-chance home runs in the semifinal and final rounds showed what he could do in a clutch situation. “If there’s a challenge to arise, he always steps up,” said Dolias, who took over the head coaching position at Monte Vista after Mark Smelko accepted an assistant coach opportunity with Grossmont College. Metropoulos felt that the enjoyment of the competition eliminated any pressure. “I’m just out here having fun,” he said. “I knew there were a bunch of hitters in the county with power. I came to hang out with my friends, too.” Metropoulos played on the Encinitas Reds last Summer. Next year he will join Chico on the University of Southern California team unless a professional club drafts him and offers him enough of a bonus to pay his own college tuition after a pro career. Metropoulos also cited the Fallbrook field’s dimensions as a factor in his success. “You feel real confident with the fence being that short.” Although the fence is 14 feet high, the foul lines are 314 feet from home plate. The power alleys are 334 feet away from the plate, and the distance to dead center is only 336 feet. “There was never a doubt that he would be a contender,” Dolias said. “Once he got in his groove, it was just fun to watch,” Dolias remarked. “It was great for the crowd. It just put an excellent cap on the day.” Lewis was not able to match Metropoulos’ totals in the finals, but he was able to overtake English for second place. After three outs, he hit his first two home runs, and after his fourth out he swatted three more homers to tie English. His sixth and final home run came with eight outs. Monte Vista earned another $1,000 for Metropoulos’ first-place performance, and Irvine High School received another $500 for Lewis’ second-place individual showing. The individual winner was originally slated to receive a baseball bat, donated by Snider, with replica signatures of all living Hall of Fame members as of 1990. A subsequent opinion of allowable player gifts forced that decision to be changed; Metropoulos received the bat as part of a perpetual trophy which will be provided to winners in subsequent years. “What a great event. Thank goodness that rain held off,” said Bob Lucy of the tournament. Lucy also expressed his appreciation to Snider, who not only lent his name to the tournament but also remained on the field for the entire day and met with the participants. “Duke has just been super,” Lucy remarked. “Turned out to be a real nice thing. Everything worked out,” Snider said of the home run derby. “I think it turned out better than we thought it would, and we had very positive thoughts going in. Everybody planned it so well that everything worked like clockwork.” | 
