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2021 MLB Home Run Derby: Defending champ Pete Alonso has eight colorful secret weapons

The rise of the painted baseball bat continues.

New York Mets first baseman and defending Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso has teamed up with artist Gregory Siff to create custom-painted bats the slugger will use in the 2021 Derby in Denver. Alonso used a painted bat to win the 2019 Derby, just as Bryce Harper did the year before that, but these not only push the art form forward -- there's eight of them this time.

Alonso will switch between them during batting practice and each round he reaches in the Derby (HR Derby bracket show, Wednesday at10 p.