MLB’s Home Run Derby will “put a new twist on an old format” next month, with hitters getting a “number of swings rather than a clock that dictates their turns at the plate,” according to sources cited by Drellich & Flores of THE ATHLETIC. The last time the Home Run Derby operated without a clock was 2014. In the updated format, competitors will “receive 20 swings in the first round and 15 in both of the final two rounds.” In an added wrinkle, hitters will be able to “continue to swing if they homer on the final hack they take each round, until they make an out.” In the first round, ties would be “broken by whoever hit a longer home run.” In the second and third rounds, a tie would be “broken by three extra swings apiece.” Eight hitters will still participate in the opening round, with four in the second round and two in the final round. In the second round, the competition “turns head-to-head: The top finisher from the first round will face the hitter who hit the fourth-most homers, while the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds will square off, setting up the championship.” A significant “motivation for the change was the viewing experience, which has a new custodian” in Netflix. Sources mentioned that the streamer “sought feedback from the league and players on ways to improve the event” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/17).
Report: MLB making changes to Home Run Derby format
