NEW YORK — Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau wasn't even invited to participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby until Sunday — after Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro Suzuki declined invitations.

So when Morneau smashed eight home runs in the first round and nine in the second round to reach the finals tonight at Yankee Stadium, it was quite a story.

The night had belonged to Josh Hamilton.

After amazing the crowd with a record 28 home runs in the first round, including several that almost left the stadium, Hamilton fell to Morneau in the finals 5-3.

Morneau's father had said he wasn't worried about his son's swing suffering from the derby this time.

"I think he's smarter now," George Morneau said. "He knows he has to stay within himself."

Today, George Morneau spent a few minutes chatting with Cal Ripken Jr., who relayed his own derby experiences.

In 1985, when Minnesota last played host to an All-Star Game, Ripken hit only one home run in the derby at the Metrodome. He didn't compete again until 1991, when he won the event with 12 homers at Toronto's SkyDome.

That year, Ripken went on to win his second American League MVP award that year, disproving the theory that the derby destroys every player's swing.

Justin Morneau cited last year's derby as one reason he slumped in the second half. He entered the break batting .295 with 24 homers, 74 RBI and a .944 on-base-plus slugging percentage. After the break, he hit .243 with seven homers, 37 RBI and a .702 OPS.

This year, Morneau is batting .323 with 14 homers and 68 RBI and a .903 OPS.

MLB wasn't interested until after four others declined, including Suzuki. His last 36 hits have all been singles, but is known for some prolific home run displays during batting practice.

When his invite finally came, Morneau was a bit hesitant, but Twins catcher Joe Mauer is among those who nudged him to do it.

"He was kind of back-and-forth," Mauer said. "One of the things I told him is you might be sitting there on the sidelines watching, going, 'Why didn't I do that?' I told him I'd take his place, but I don't think I qualify for enough home runs."

Last year, Morneau was the first of eight contestants to swing. He hit four homers in 10 swings at San Francisco's spacious AT&T Park. Then, in a tiebreaker round with Albert Pujols, Morneau hit one home run in five swings, and Pujols hit two to advance to the semifinals.

This year, Morneau was the lone contestant to return. After having Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pitch to him last year, he picked Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra this time.

"I wasn't quite the same after that (derby last year)," Morneau said. "This year, I brought in my hitting coach. He said, 'If it gets off a little bit, I'll just slow you down and we can fix it.' With doing it last year, I know what to expect now."

For Hamilton, the first round was like living a dream. The first part of a dream, anyway.

The Texas Rangers center fielder said he dreamed in his sleep one night in 2006 about getting interviewed after participating in the derby at Yankee Stadium. In the dream, he didn't see himself hit.

Maybe that's why the stadium was pinching itself watching his first-round performance.

In the dream, Hamilton said, "I was able to show everybody how I was there, why I was there, and that was because of God's grace."

A recovering drug addict, Hamilton was out of baseball in 2006. He returned last season and has emerged this year as the story of the season. But on this night, Morneau stole his thunder.