2023 Home Run Derby: What you need to know & how to watch
Jul 10, 2023, 9:39 AM
(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
The Home Run Derby is here!
Some of Major League Baseball’s greatest sluggers will take the stage at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington for the 2023 Home Run Derby.
Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodríguez will look to secure his first Home Run Derby title after falling short in 2022, while New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso will attempt to win his third home run crown.
Before the baseballs begin flying out of T-Mobile Park, here is a rundown on everything that you need to know for the 2023 Home Run Derby.
2023 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Info
Where: T-Mobile Park – Seattle, Washington
When: Monday, July 10, 2023
Time: 5:00 PM PST
TV: ESPN
The Home Run Derby Bracket
-
Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox (26 HR)
-
Pete Alonso, New York Mets (26 HR)
-
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers (26 HR)
-
Adolis García, Texas Rangers (23 HR)
-
Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays (16 HR)
-
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays (13 HR)
-
Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners (13 HR)
-
Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles (12 HR)
Home Run Derby Format
The Home Run Derby is a single-elimination bracket system with three rounds total. In each bracket, the higher seed hits second.
Batters will have three minutes per round in the first and second rounds and two minutes in the final round. The clock starts with the release of the first pitch, and the round ends when the timer strikes zero. A homer will count as long as the pitch is released before the timer hits zero.
It should be noted that once the second player in a given round exceeds the home run total of his opponent, the round ends. There is no need for a player to add to his tally.
Home Run Derby Rules
After each regulation period, thirty seconds of extra time will be granted to each batter. A hitter can earn an additional 30 seconds of bonus time — giving him 60 seconds total–if he hits at least two homers that equal or exceed 440 feet (tracked by MLB’s Statcast) in the regulation period.
The bonus period, be it 30 seconds or 60 seconds, is a single time segment, with no timeouts. The player is given a short break between his regulation and bonus periods. During the bonus period, a special T-Mobile magenta ball will be used.
Each batter is entitled to one 45-second timeout in each of the three regulation periods. Timeouts cannot be called during the bonus periods.
Ties in any round will be broken by a 60-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added. If a tie remains after the swing-off, batters will engage in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner.
Is there a prize for the Home Run Derby winner?
As part of an agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association before the 2019 season, the Home Run Derby prize pool was increased from $725,000 to $2.5 million. The winner takes home a cool $1 million of that total.
