How to watch the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby

Jul 15, 2024, 7:59 AM

SEATTLE, WA - JULY 10: A view of the Home Run Derby championship trophy during the T-Mobile Home Ru...

(Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

Some of baseball’s premier power hitters will take center stage on Monday night in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

MLB All-Star week has arrived, and festivities will begin this evening as two-time Derby champion Pete Alonso, star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and more dig into the box looking to take home the hardware.

Here is everything you need to know about the 2024 Home Run Derby, starting with the participants:

The 2024 #HRDerby field is set!

Who’s your winner?

(MLB x @TMobile) pic.twitter.com/SEO3KWiOLj

— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2024

Where can I watch the MLB Home Run Derby?

ESPN will exclusively televise the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at 8 p.m. ET. The event will also be available on ESPN+.

How will the seeds be decided?

With the rules changes this season, there will be no seeding for the first round of the Derby. Instead, all eight participants will hit as many homers as possible in their allotted time, and when the round closes, the top four will advance to the semifinal round.

For the semifinals, the seeding will be determined by the number of homers hit in Round 1. If there is a tie, the player who hit the longest home run among the tied players will receive the higher seeding. The No. 1 seed will face the No. 4 seed, and the No. 2 seed will take on the No. 3 seed to determine the two sluggers who will advance to the final round.

What is the Home Run Derby format?

There are a few format changes to this year’s Derby.

While the three rounds remain the same in terms of length, there will be a pitch limit — in each of the first two rounds, a hitter will be allowed three minutes (excluding any bonus time) or 40 pitches, whichever limit is hit first. And in the finals, hitters will be allotted two minutes (excluding any bonus time) or a maximum of 27 pitches, whichever comes first. You can find a breakdown of all the format changes here.

Will the participants receive or earn bonus time?

Yes, but the bonus time will be issued differently than in years past.

Instead of an automatic 30 seconds of bonus time, followed by an additional 30 seconds if a hitter launched multiple home runs of more than 440 feet during the regulation period, hitters will now be given three “outs” (any ball hit that is not a home run is considered an “out”) to hit as many homers as possible. If a player hits any home runs of at least 425 feet during the bonus period, he will be granted an additional out.

Can players stop the clock?

Batters are entitled to one 45-second timeout in each of the three regulation periods, but timeouts can’t be called during bonus periods.

If a tiebreaker is needed at the end of a round once the “knockout” stage has begun, ties will be broken by a 60-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added. If there is still a tie after the swing-off, batters will engage in successive three-swing “swing-offs” until there is a winner.

All Home Run Derby info is courtesy of MLB.com