On July 14, Rooker went up to the plate at Truist Park in Atlanta, and he gave A’s fans a night they won’t soon forget. As he hit home run after home run in the Home Run Derby, there was more than just the cheers and the numbers on the scoreboard. There was also a moment on camera that showed the guy behind the uniform. At one point, Rooker was spotted feeding his 11-month-old daughter with a bottle between swings. But a fan saw it as a PR moment and questioned him. But Rooker didn’t hesitate to reply!

It all started when Rooker shared his happiness after Derby. On his X account, he wrote, “What a blast! It was an honor to compete against those guys and fulfill a childhood dream. Congrats to Cal and everyone else who made it a great night! Still hard to believe I get opportunities to do things like this.” But a fan, in response, commented about the bottle-feeding: “Hey Rooker…did you really need to feed your baby on camera? Sometimes people just want to see you play.”

Rooker, who never shies away from addressing criticism, answered clearly but gently. “Yes, it was necessary to feed my 11 month old child her night time bottle at like 9:00 pm. Thank you for asking.” And that’s it, Dad duty comes before anything else.

With a stern reply, Rooker reminded everyone that sometimes, the most authentic moments need no defense. For him, fatherhood is everything. He and his wife, Allie Oliver, have two daughters: Blair Riley, born in 2021, and Blake Eloise, born in 2024. Allie, always supportive, was seen wearing a ‘Rooker’ cap and cheering with baby Blake during the game.

Coming to his Derby performance, he hit 17 home runs in the first round of the Derby, tying Cal Raleigh, and was grateful for the opportunity. His night “was super fun, like I said, a great experience that I’m glad I got.” However, the controversy over Rooker and Raleigh’s home runs changed the result was too loud to miss the headlines.

Decimal drama: Rooker’s Derby dream derailed by 0.08-foot tiebreaker

Brent Rooker and Cal Raleigh each hit 17 home runs in the first round, which put them in a tie for the last semifinal slot. What looked like identical longest shots, both listed as 471 feet on the scoreboard. But it actually hid a very small tiebreaker change. Statcast showed that Raleigh’s longest home run was 470.62 feet, and Rooker’s was 470.54. A loss with a margin of 0.08 feet.

When Rooker found out what happened, he was upset that the information wasn’t accurate in real time. He told the reporters, “Last I knew, we were both at 471, because that’s obviously the number they put up there. Maybe if they go to the decimal point, they should display that during the Derby and not wait until everyone’s done to bring out that information. That might be helpful.”

However,  Rooker accepted the outcome with grace. “It is what it is. Obviously had a great time out there. Cal’s a great competitor. He put on a good performance, too. Rules are the rules in terms of what makes up the semifinals.” Even though he lost by just an inch, Rooker stayed calm and accepted the result. He was happy with the experience and respected the rules.