From the first day Yoenis Céspedes arrived in Oakland in 2012, his amazing feats of strength became a growing legend. That legend, however, was mostly confined to the local level. Then came the '13 Home Run Derby.

American League team captain Robinson Can¨® made C¨¦spedes a final selection for the Derby about a week before the event and after other All-Stars declined the invitation. The Oakland slugger was not expected by many people outside of the Bay Area to win, as he had 15 home runs and a .225 batting average at the All-Star break. But once C¨¦spedes stepped into the box at Citi Field, he showed the world that he belongs.

C¨¦spedes set the tone by mashing 17 homers in the first round, which tied David Ortiz¡¯s '05 performance for third-most homers in a single round at the time, before knocking off Bryce Harper in the final to bring the A¡¯s their second Home Run Derby winner in club history and their first since Mark McGwire in 1992.

While C¨¦spedes surprised many with his 32 total homers, this was nothing new for him, as he had become accustomed to winning derbies back in his native Cuba earlier in his career.

"Before I came, they asked me if I was going to be nervous, because I would be participating in front of possibly 50,000 people,¡± C¨¦spedes said that night. ¡°When I was in Cuba, I participated in five home run derbies; it wasn't 50,000 people, but it was 30,000 or 32,000 people and I wasn't nervous."

Many of C¨¦spedes¡¯ big flies reached Citi Field¡¯s third deck, a location seldom reached by players during the regular season. Harper put up a good fight in the final round with eight homers, but C¨¦spedes surpassed that mark with five outs still remaining for the 9-8 victory, with his derby-clinching homer traveling a monstrous 455 feet to center. C¨¦spedes became the first right-handed hitter to win the derby since Vladimir Guerrero in 2007.

"I came off the field saying that's not enough," Harper said. "I thought maybe 12. The way [C¨¦spedes] was swinging the bat that first and second round, he wasn't even trying. It was pretty incredible to watch. He's so strong."