The New York Yankee's Jason Giambi overcame Sammy Sosa's dazzling display of longballs early in the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday to easily beat the Chicago Cubs slugger 7-1 in the final.

After Sosa hit seven 150-meter homers in the first two rounds, including three that left Miller Park on the fly, the Chicago Cubs slugger could only go deep once in the final.

"Yellowstone might be the only park that could hold him," Giambi said. "He's the best of the best."

But Sosa couldn't defeat Giambi. With Miller Park's roof leaking during a booming thunderstorm in the final round, Giambi got off to a quick start with four homers after three outs.

Giambi, hitting off Yankees coach Willie Randolph, had seven longballs before missing on his final four swings. Giambi credited Randolph for slowing his pitches down in the final round.

"These events are kind of fun because you swing from your shoe tops," Giambi said.

Sosa failed on his first five swings in the final against Cubs bullpen catcher Benny Cadahia before changing bats. Sosa hit only one homer with the new lumber.

Sosa, the runner-up in the National League homer race in three of the past four years, finished second in the Derby for the second straight year. He lost to Arizona's Luis Gonzalez last year in Seattle.

"I came up a little bit short, but it's no big deal," Sosa said.

Sosa easily put on the best show of the night. With flashbulbs popping before every swing and the crowd of 41,732 chanting, "Sam-my! Sam-my!"

Sosa hit the ball a mile in the first round - literally. His 12 homers traveled a total of 1.716 kilometers, including the first two balls ever hit out of the 2-year-old ballpark.

Sosa had five 150-meter shots that left fellow All-Stars like Ichiro Suzuki and Andruw Jones laughing in amazement. Sosa's longest drive traveled 157 meters and landed in the middle of Bernie Brewer's slide deep in left-center.

He also hit a drive off an advertising sign above the scoreboard in center field. "I came in and gave the fans what they wanted," Sosa said. "I put on a show for the fans."

Giambi, who set the first-round record with 14 last year, nearly matched Sosa with 11, but had few of the jaw-dropping blasts that made the crowd "ooh" and "aah" for Sosa.

Sosa hit eight balls farther than Giambi's best shot, a 148.74-meter drive in the semifinals. "I realized it's not how far you hit it, it's how many you hit," Sosa said. "That's why he won."

Sosa didn't slow down in the second round, eliminating hometown favorite Richie Sexson.

After Sexson hit four homers, Sosa got off to a slow start with no longballs on his first three swings. Then he hit four straight, including a 152-meter shot that left the park and went to a fan wearing a T-shirt with a bull's eye that said, "Hit me Sammy."

Four outs later, Sosa won the round with a drive that hit a panel about 4.5 meters above the high scoreboard in center field. Sosa flipped the bat away before the ball even cleared the fence.

"The ball didn't carry as well," Sexson said. "That was tough for the last couple of rounds there."

Giambi went down to his final out before hitting two homers to force a swing-off with Jeff Konerko. Konerko and Sexson each hit four homers in the opening round.

This year's Derby has lost its innocence after months of talk about steroid use. Major league baseball has even contributed to the cloud hanging over the game's sluggers with an ad that depicts players as puffed-up cartoon characters, who look like they're on steroids.

"I'd like to think the Home Run Derby is a big thing because the fans like it and want to see how far you can hit a baseball not whose muscles are bulging or who's juiced up," Florida Marlins' All-Star third baseman Mike Lowell said.