The 2023 MLB Home Run Derby is set to take place on Monday, July 10 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. The event will begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. The Derby format has changed considerably over the years, but one thing remains the same: A single-elimination bracket to crown an eventual winner.
There will be eight seeded competitors this year. No. 1 Luis Robert Jr., No. 2 Pete Alonso, No. 3 Mookie Betts, No. 4 Adolis Garcia, No. 5 Randy Arozarena, No. 6 Vladimir Guerrero Jr., No. 7 Julio Rodriguez and No. 8 Adley Rutschman.
The 2023 Home Run Derby bracket is set.
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 6, 2023
Who is going to be the champion?! pic.twitter.com/1DraFKCqld
2023 Home Run Derby rules
There will be three rounds of competition. In the first round, the No. 1 seed will face the No. 8, the No. 2 seed will take on the No. 7, the No. 3 seed will battle the No. 6 and finally, the No. 4 seed will duke it out with the No. 5. The higher seed (lower in number) will always hit second in each matchup.
Batters will have three minutes to hit as many home runs as they can and are granted one timeout to be used per round. The timeouts will last 45 seconds and serve as a breather for the hitter and their pitcher. Each player has the chance to earn an additional 30 seconds of bonus time if they hit two home runs that travel at least 440 feet during regulation. If the competitors are tied at the end of the round, the matchup will move to a tiebreaker in which each hitter will get one minute to hit as many home runs as they can. If that doesn’t decide things, we move to a swing-off, with each hitter alternating sets of three swings.
The winner of the Home Run Derby will take home a cool million dollars. The total prize pool is $2.5 million. The winner takes home $1 million, with the runner-up earning $750,000. The remaining $750k will be split among the six other competitors. Also up for grabs is a sweet Derby chain to be worn by the winner.