PHOENIX - His selection into the State Farm Home Run Derby almost raised as many eyebrows as some of his New York Yankees teammates' decisions to skip the entire All-Star festival in Phoenix.
But even no-shows Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera told second baseman Robinson Cano he could win the slugfest at Chase Field on Monday night.
And that's exactly what happened, as Cano nipped Boston's Adrian Gonzalez by hitting a finals-record 12 home runs in front of a boisterous crowd of 44,820.
"Everybody told me I was going to win it," Cano said, "and I was like, 'Wow, we got a lot of guys in this. We've got (David) Ortiz and (Prince) Fielder. We've got Gonzalez, and we got (Jose) Bautista. That's a lot of power.
"But I was staying positive, and I just said I'm going to go out there and try the best I can, and good thing, it ended up my way."
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Cano flew in his father, Jose, from the Dominican Republic to pitch to him in the Home Run Derby. The father pitches to the son during the offseason, and the chemistry worked to perfection.
"It worked today," Jose Cano said. "Thank God, it worked."
Cano and Gonzalez each hit 20 homers to advance to the finals. Gonzalez then went first and hit 11, setting the stage for Cano's dramatic win. His 12 homers surpassed the finals record set by Bobby Abreu in 2005 and equaled last season by Ortiz and this season by Gonzalez.
"They put on a show, man," said NL contestant Matt Kemp of the Dodgers, whose two homers were the fewest in the competition.
Toronto's Jose Bautista, considered the derby favorite, failed to get out of the first round. He finished with four.
Fielder, the NL's captain, hit the longest home run, a 474-foot shot to right field. But during most of his swings, he was booed loudly, presumably because he left Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton off his derby squad of sluggers.
"It's one of their players. You expect that," Fielder said. "That means it means a lot to them."
The boos didn't bother Fielder, he added, but they bothered his two young sons, who were on the field during the derby.
"They were mad. They wanted to fight," Fielder said. "I had to tell them to calm down. It wasn't personal."
Neither was the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry that occurred in the finals between Cano and Gonzalez. Not according to Cano, who said, "I never thought it was Red Sox and Yankees. I know I was facing Gonzalez, but I didn't have that in my mind."
Today
Fanfest
• When: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Where: Phoenix Convention Center
All-Star Red-Carpet Show
• When: Noon
• Where: First and Jefferson streets
• What: Procession of baseball's All-Stars down one-third of a mile of red carpet. From the corner of First and Jefferson, the parade will go down Fourth Street, ending at Chase Field. The parade will be led by Grand Marshal Luis Gonzalez.
82nd All-Star Game
• When: 5 p.m. (Ch. 11)
• Where: Chase Field
• What: The main event - the best players from the National and American leagues square off for bragging rights and also to determine home-field advantage for the World Series.
