ARLINGTON -- It was actually three years ago, to the day, that James Russell made his final appearance as a professional baseball player -- and it was also three years ago, to the day, that his son Jayce was born extremely premature, nearly costing both wife and child their lives, all while Russell couldn¡¯t get out of Mexico, where he was pitching, to return home to Texas.

On Monday, Jayce Russell was a happy, healthy boy with only some mild swallowing issues to show for the ordeal, celebrating his third birthday alongside a huge crowd of family and friends by cheering for Uncle Junior, whom he calls ¡°the GOAT.¡±

That¡¯s Bobby Witt Jr., of course, who -- with a sweat-slicked band of hair lining his forehead at the end of a three-hour competition -- crushed one final pitch deep into center field at Globe Life Field off his brother-in-law, Russell, as they competed together in the Home Run Derby as part of Witt¡¯s family-centric homecoming to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as a first-time All-Star.

But that ball hit the outfield wall with a thud in deep left-center and fell to the warning track.

With that, Witt fell to Derby champion Teoscar Hern¨¢ndez in a dramatic 14-13 final as his hometown crowd collectively gasped in disappointment -- though that didn¡¯t dampen the smiles of Witt and Russell as they talked about the new chapter in their family¡¯s extensive baseball history as runners-up in the 2024 T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

¡°Texas-sized crowd -- it was just a lot of fun to be able to do that and experience that with my brother-in-law, with my family in the stands, and being able to make it to the finals,¡± Witt said. ¡°It was awesome. Teoscar put on a great show. It was so much fun to be out there with all the guys. It¡¯s one of those feelings you don¡¯t really ever have. That was awesome.¡±

It certainly didn¡¯t seem to dampen Jayce¡¯s spirits, either, they said.

¡°He¡¯s pumped,¡± said Russell, one of three MLB sons-in-law of Bobby Witt Sr. and himself the son of former big leaguer Jeff Russell. ¡°He¡¯s the biggest Bobby Jr. fan you¡¯ll ever find. We watch mostly every game, and the second he sees Junior, he¡¯s up jumping around: ¡®Bobby! Bobby! Bobby! Uncle Junior! Uncle Junior!¡¯ It¡¯s pretty cool. Lights up my eyes every time.¡±

That sort of family bonding experience is exactly why Witt hoped fiercely for this to be where he¡¯d make his first All-Star team. He¡¯s already been reveling (in his quiet, unassuming way) in the memories he¡¯s been making at home as part of this honor in Arlington, minutes south of where he went to high school in Colleyville.

And long before first pitch in the actual game, Witt fell just short of a greater coronation in what still proved a Texas-sized homecoming.

Adolis Garc¨ªa, Marcell Ozuna, Gunnar Henderson and two-time Derby champion Pete Alonso were eliminated in the first round. Witt bounced division rival Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez in the semifinals, 17-12, while Hern¨¢ndez beat Alec Bohm in a swing-off tiebreaker, 16-15, in the other semi.

The 24-year-old Witt fell just shy of becoming the first Home Run Derby champion representing his Kansas City Royals -- something not accomplished by Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017) and Salvador Perez (2021).

But considering Witt committed to an extension covering at least 11 years to remain the face of the franchise only five months ago, he might still have some chances yet to break that barrier.

¡°What he does on the baseball field is what I wish I could do,¡± said Freddie Freeman, who has known Russell and Witt since the Royals star¡¯s childhood. ¡°I wish I could run fast. I wish I could play shortstop. He does everything. He¡¯s a good-looking kid. He¡¯s got it all, you know? It¡¯s very fun to watch. I love young guys in the game who are good people. The game is in really, really good hands for a very long time with guys like Bobby Witt.¡±

Turns out that he can really hit some dingers, too.

Perhaps that should have been obvious, considering his 16 first-half homers for the Royals and the fact that, well, he¡¯s won a Home Run Derby before -- just not the Major League edition. He triumphed in the 2018 High School Home Run Derby at Nationals Park and became the first player to compete in both the high school edition and the big league version of the event.

Witt said before the event that he wasn¡¯t planning to change anything about his compact, speedy swing -- the shortest in the Derby field, per Statcast -- the one that has made him arguably the game¡¯s premier five-tool talent. Turns out that even as one portion of that outrageously well-rounded game, his power tool can roar as he paced the Derby field with 50 homers in all.

Not too bad for the kid who used to tag along with Russell on Family Day when the left-hander called the Braves¡¯ clubhouse home in 2014, the brother-in-law whom Russell pointed out to his teammates when he was kicking around the Minor Leagues in '16 as a talent to watch who was ¡°pretty good.¡±

¡°It¡¯s everything,¡± Russell said. ¡°The most important thing to us is family. We¡¯re lucky to have a really special branch in our family. It¡¯s just pretty awesome seeing everybody going crazy in the stands and cheering for us.¡±