Levine: White Sox Slugger Todd Frazier Eager To Defend Home Run Crown

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The defending Home Run Derby champion is on a mission to make it two straight.

White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier will travel to San Diego for his third long ball tournament Monday. After a frantic last round in 2015 in which Frazier won by hitting seven home runs in 2 minutes, 20 seconds in Cincinnati, he feels good about coming away with the title again.

"It's serious but a lot of fun," Frazier said. "Look, my brother, who throws to me, and I have a plan. Having a good time is part of it. There will be a tough first round, and Carlos Gonzalez will be a part of that. I am basically the only one with experience from last season in this new format, so we shall see how it goes."

The 30-year-old Frazier is near the top of the home run leaders with 23. His first-half batting average was poor, as he was hitting .211 entering Friday's game against the Braves. Therefore, no All-Star consideration was given despite Frazier's power numbers.

"I will be going second through the whole thing," said Frazier, who considers that favorable. "You know how many you will need to hit. Going second, you know if you have to speed it up a little or pace yourself and use your timeout. My brother will watch me, and if I start swinging at some bad pitches, he will signal me to slow it down."

Tiring on the field and after the Home Run Derby is inevitable, Frazier said.

"There is no way you can't get tired," he said. "It is a lot of swings and hard work. Either way, it is always fun. I will go in there and enjoy it. Same swing all the way, same as in BP. Getting tired is a part of it, though."

White Sox manager Robin Ventura is all good with Frazier going for another Derby title.

"I hope he hits a lot of home runs, and I hope he comes back and swings it well," Ventura said. "Where he is at right now, it probably helps him. Hopefully, he hits something far, gets a good feeling and go from there."

As a player, Ventura won a group Home Run Derby in Japan in 1996 as part of a seven-game series between MLB and Japanese top teams.

"Of course we won," Ventura said. "Money, we won money. … We split it with Dick Such, who threw to us and was a coach on our team. They gave us a handful of Yen, and we split it."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.