​Jordan Walker silences Phillies fans to become first Cardinals player ever to win Home Run Derby originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Jordan Walker walked into Citizens Bank Park with just 49 career home runs. He walked out as the first St. Louis Cardinals player ever to win the MLB Home Run Derby.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 24-year-old slugger delivered a performance that Cardinals fans won’t soon forget Monday night, surviving two rounds before defeating hometown favorite Kyle Schwarber in front of a roaring Philadelphia crowd. Every time Walker stepped to the plate in the championship round, thousands of Phillies fans showered him with boos, hoping to will Schwarber to victory.Instead, Walker embraced the hostile atmosphere, launched one towering home run after another and made franchise history. The victory also made Walker the second-youngest Home Run Derby champion in MLB history, trailing only Juan Gonzalez, who won the event at age 23 in 1993.Walker looked comfortable from his very first swing. He blasted 13 home runs in the opening round, tying former Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, now with the Boston Red Sox, for the highest total of the round. Under the Derby’s format, the top four hitters advanced, allowing both sluggers to move on.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe semifinals paired Walker with Tampa Bay Rays star Junior Caminero, who entered the night with a chance to become the youngest Home Run Derby champion ever.Caminero managed five home runs. Walker needed only six.The Cardinals slugger reached that mark quickly and ended his round immediately after clinching the victory, conserving energy for what was ahead.By the time the championship round arrived, Walker had launched 19 home runs on just 27 swings, an incredibly efficient display of power that made him the hottest hitter in the field. On the opposite side of the bracket, Schwarber caught fire.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter sneaking into the semifinals as the fourth and final qualifier with 10 home runs in the opening round, the Phillies slugger blasted nine in the semifinals to eliminate Contreras, who finished with eight. That set up the championship everyone inside Citizens Bank Park wanted.Before the championship began, legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer stepped onto the field to introduce the finalists, giving the Derby a prizefight atmosphere. The contrast between the two sluggers couldn’t have been more striking.Walker entered the night with 49 career major league home runs.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSchwarber had 372.One was a first-time All-Star still establishing himself among baseball’s elite. The other was one of the sport’s most feared power hitters competing in front of his home crowd.MORE: Cardinals’ first-round pick Trevor Condon already drawing Pete Crow-Armstrong comparisonsSchwarber gave the Phillies fans exactly what they wanted.