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Cal Raleigh wins Home Run Derby chain: Here's how much it is worth and other prize money details
Cal Raleigh defeated Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero 18-15 in Monday's Home Run Derby final to become the first catcher to win the iconic derby chain.
Cal Raleigh defeated Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero 18-15 in Monday's Home Run Derby final to become the first catcher to win the iconic derby chain. The 28-year-old, who leads MLB with 38 homers this season, won $1 million in prize money. He was handed a WWE-like belt by Cody Rhodes.
"It means the world," Raleigh said. "I could have hit zero home runs and had just as much fun. I just can't believe I won. It's unbelievable."
Raleigh, who advanced from the first round by less than an inch (25.4mm) on a longest homer tiebreaker, had his father Todd pitching to him and his brother Todd Jr. as catcher.
"It's just a great accomplishment and I think that every dad... this is what they dreamed about," Todd Raleigh Sr. said. To see it come true for your son is unbelievable."
Value of the 2025 Home Run Derby Chain
The 2025 Home Run Derby chain, presented by T-Mobile, is a diamond-encrusted piece featuring the phrase 'Keep Swinging'. While specific details for 2025 are limited, the 2024 chain weighed 995 grams with 915 brilliant-cut prong-set diamonds in a Texas-themed belt buckle design. The 2023 chain, adorned with over 1,000 stones, weighed three pounds.
No official appraisal exists for the 2025 chain, but based on prior years, estimates range widely. The chain, introduced in 2019 after Pete Alonso wore a medallion gifted by Daddy Yankee, is now a Derby tradition, complementing the $1 million prize and stainless steel trophy.
Raleigh, one shy of the MLB record 39 homers by Barry Bonds before an All-Star break, is on pace to set a one-season record for MLB homers by a catcher.
The final pitted the Rays' Caminero, a 22-year-old Dominican third baseman using a bat with his image on it, against Raleigh. It featured two minutes or 27 pitches plus earned bonus time.
Raleigh smashed 18 homers, setting a tough target for Caminero, who smacked homers off seven of the first 10 pitches he faced and 14 homers in all after regulation time.
Needing four more to force a swing-off, Caminero could add only one in the extra session and when his final hit fell short of the outfield wall, Raleigh had the title.
Caminero, who would have been the youngest Derby winner, earns less for the season salary, $764,000, than Raleigh took home.
(With AFP inputs)
