Stefen Romero wins Mariners’ first Alumni Home Run Derby

The stars are out at T-Mobile Park this weekend as the Seattle Mariners celebrate their 50th season of baseball, but it was one of the less-heralded former players who took home the crown in the franchise’s first-ever Alumni Home Run Derby.

Former Mariners outfielder Stefen Romero beat ex-M’s catcher and current bullpen coach Austin Nola 12-11 in the championship round Friday night at T-Mobile Park.

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The 37-year-old Romero, who played three seasons in Seattle from 2014-16, put on a show in his final round to take home the crown.

After Nola set the bar with 11 points, Romero scored 12 with 12 homers before the end of his initial two-minute round to win the title. In doing so, Romero didn’t need to participate in his bonus round, which homers were worth two points in. He also didn’t use his timeout in the two-minute round.

Stefen Romero is your Alumni Home Run Derby Champion! #Mariners50 pic.twitter.com/YA3qN7zVLB

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 8, 2026

Romero and Nola each scored nine points in the first round, which included Nola homering on three straight swings to finish his jackpot round.

Crowd favorite Ichiro Suzuki nearly made his way to the finals but fell just short after an impressive start to his round. The 52-year-old Hall of Famer hit six homers in his initial two minutes of the first round but only one in his jackpot round for eight total points.

An assortment of Mariners legends after Ichiro falls one HR short of advancing to the championship round pic.twitter.com/bYTmJJ3Jh1

— Mike Lefko (@MikeLefko) August 8, 2026

Mariners analyst Ryan Rowland-Smith, the only pitcher in the event, provided some of its best moments. Rowland-Smith came to the plate dressed as fellow Australian Steve Irwin and briefly wrestled a blowup alligator before starting his round.

After Rowland-Smith stepped to the plate, he hit two balls off the top of the wall before homering on the final swing of his two-minute round. He added another blast on the final swing of his jackpot round.

At the buzzer 🚨 pic.twitter.com/5eEbC4tdcc

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 8, 2026

Rowland-Smith didn’t end up being the only former Mariners left-handed pitcher to participate in the event. James Paxton made a surprise appearance to pitch to Ryon Healy, who hit four homers and scored four points in the first round.

Everybody loves Big Maple 🍁 pic.twitter.com/CT9a6rqn3d

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 8, 2026

Each batter had a two-minute round that started with their first swing followed by a 30-second jackpot round. Homers in the two-minute round were worth one point and homers hit in the jackpot round were worth two. The top two finishers in the first round advanced to the final. Tiebreakers were determined by the longest home run.

Below are the full results from each round of the derby.

First round results

1. Stefen Romero – 9
2. Austin Nola – 9
3. Ichiro Suzuki – 8
4. Bucky Jacobsen – 4
5. Ryon Healy – 4
6.Ryan Rowland-Smith – 3
7. Mike Cameron – 2

Championship round results

1. Stefen Romero – 12
2. Austin Nola – 11 (10)

DJ Pleno on the ones and twos 🕺 pic.twitter.com/J7pfKKXpgF

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 8, 2026

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