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VIDEO: Watch Bobby Witt Jr. top Rece Hinds to win HS Home Run Derby at Nationals Park

Photo: @CBS11BillJones/Twitter screen shot

We wrote about how the real highlight of the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby was the high school final pitting LSU commit Rece Hinds against Oklahoma pledge Bobby Witt Jr. The face off lived up to expectations, with Hinds and Witt Jr. combining for 15 homers despite getting just 90 seconds each to compete during a TV timeout.

Here’s how it all went down. No, you can’t see where their moonshots land, though apparently one of Hinds’ was nearly as long as any hit Monday night. That includes the prodigious moonshots from Kyle Schwarber.

Yet even though Hinds’ power may have been more awe-inspiring, it was Witt Jr.’s smooth swing that, quite rightly, had scouts and fans oohing and aahing. The Colleyville Heritage star from the Dallas-Fort Worth area finished with eight home runs to Hinds’ seven, and he had time to spare; it seemed likely he might have hit 10 if he had taken his full allotment of time.

Instead, Witt Jr. was mobbed by Hinds, who celebrated Witt Jr.’s blasts as if they were his own.

“It was absolutely surreal,’’ Witt Jr. told the Dallas Morning News. “Walking around this stadium, with all these players, was absolutely amazing. It was truly a blessing to be here.’’

The question now is whether Witt Jr. and Hinds might meet up in Seacaucus as potential first round picks leading the pack at the MLB Draft next spring, or if they’ll head to Oklahoma and LSU, respectively. Based on their showing in Washington, few would bet against the first option.

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