Josh Hamilton dreamed it. Now he's done it.

With a dazzling display of power last night, the Texas Rangers slugger hit a record 28 homers in the first round of the All-Star Home Run Derby at Yankee Stadium before he was beaten out by Minnesota's Justin Morneau in the finals.

Morneau topped a tired Hamilton 5-3 in the last round, giving him the derby title. But the night belonged to Hamilton.

Back from drug and alcohol addiction that derailed his career, Hamilton broke Bobby Abreu's mark for one round. Abreu hit 24 home runs in the first round in 2005 at Detroit's Comerica Park.

With his smooth left-handed swing and jaw-dropping power, Hamilton seemed a natural choice to take advantage of Yankee Stadium's short right-field porch. But he cleared the deepest fences with ease, hitting three shots farther than 500 feet — including his longest estimated at 518.

That was the third-longest drive in the 19-year history of the derby, behind Sammy Sosa's 524-foot homer in 2002 at Miller Park in Milwaukee and Frank Thomas' 519-footer in 1994 at old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

Hamilton's 28 homers in the first round were the second-highest total for an entire derby, behind Abreu's 41 for Philadelphia in 2005.

"We were sitting there saying, how do you follow that?" Morneau said. "I'm glad I didn't hit right after him, that's for sure."

Hamilton totaled 35 homers to Morneau's 22 — and the Texas outfielder stopped after making only four outs in the second round because he was already assured a spot in the finals. Contestants get 10 outs in each round.

"I couldn't ask for anything else," Hamilton said. "You don't feel tired, but obviously you're a little tired."

When it was over, Morneau was left practically apologizing for winning.

"I was lucky that we got reset," he said. "This was his show. He deserved to win it. That was one of the best performances I've ever seen."

TIGERS

SARDINHA SENT DOWN

Detroit sent catcher Dane Sardinha, a Kamehameha Schools alum, back to Triple-A Toledo yesterday.

He was called up when utility player Brandon Inge pulled an oblique muscle in his abdomen on June 23 and served as backup to catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

Inge returned on July 10, and Sardinha was designated for assignment that day.

Sardinha batted .167 with a triple and two RBIs in five games with the Tigers. He is batting .206 with eight doubles, six home runs and 16 RBIs in 48 games with Toledo.

ELSEWHERE

Free agent: Barry Bonds has not received a single offer, agent Jeff Borris said yesterday. Borris dismissed recent reports of interest from Arizona, the New York Mets and Boston.

Nationals: Washington outfielder Wily Mo Pena will have surgery on his left shoulder. Pena has a small tear in his left rotator cuff and fraying of the labrum in his left shoulder.