The 2024 MLB Home Run Derby has come and gone, and now all attention is on the All-Star Game. Before we skip ahead to Tuesday night’s interleague showdown, let’s take a second to recap this year’s Home Run Derby and see how the new format worked after sleeping on it.
Pre-Derby
Although it was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET, the derby itself didn’t start for about 20 minutes. The players were introduced, and I think one future change could be bigger, personalized entrances. There are currently only eight participants, so give me a full WWE-esque entrance with pyro and a song of their choosing. Let them dress up if they want to! Make it a mix of fun and grand, and get their respective mascots involved.
The national anthem set the tone of the derby. I will be the first to say that I can’t sing, so I would never be in a position to sing a national anthem, let alone at a huge event. Unfortunately for Ingrid Andress, she will now be a household name, but not for the reasons she likely wanted. Social media is officially dethroning Fergie and has decided that Andress is now attributed with the worst national anthem ever.
First Round
The dinger derby finally began as Alec Bohm stepped to the plate, and his three minutes or 40 pitches began. For some reason, it felt like 40 pitches were too few, but most hitters either finished their pitches right as time expired or only had a handful remaining. Bohm hit 21 home runs to start off, which set a benchmark for the new first-round format. It was the most impressive performance, as he tied Jose Ramirez for the most in the round.
The first round was fun — like when Marcell Ozuna clobbered a 473-foot home run — but it felt rushed. The solution to finding the best product for a home run derby is tricky because you have to decide if you want to make the event more challenging for competitors or if you want to adapt the rules to try and encourage the most home runs possible for fans. The top two hitters in the first round combined to hit 42 home runs. Last year, Julio Rodriguez set the record by hitting 41 in the first round, and five of the eight competitors hit more than 21 home runs. This year’s results didn’t feel like enough action to hook fans early.
Second Round
Bohm (21), Ramirez (21), Witt (20) and Teoscar Hernandez (19) advanced to the second round. I like that the first round wasn’t head-to-head, but I don’t love that the second round went back to bracket-style competition. Bohm and Hernandez each hit 14 home runs and had to go into a swing-off, which Hernandez won.
It worked out well that Hernandez finished with 16 home runs and joined Witt (17) in the final round. They had the highest total of the round, but if Ramirez had hit 16 and been eliminated by Witt, I still think it’s a problem that he wouldn’t have had a chance to compete in the finals.
Final Round
Monday’s final round was a lot of fun once it got underway. I took out the trash and returned to see the TV going through a whole presentation, and I assumed I had somehow missed the entire final round. I think the pageantry and building up the two players’ hype was unnecessary and wasted time. It may have been done to give them a bit of a breather, but if you’re going to be in the finals of the derby, you can’t get tired from taking 60 swings over two hours. That being said, Witt’s attempt to come from behind, needing one home run to tie Hernandez with only one out and having his final swing hit the wall, mere feet from being the home run he needed, was a fantastic finish. As surprising as it is, Hernandez becomes the first Los Angeles Dodger player to win the derby.
Looking Ahead to 2025
The order of the first round was determined by how many home runs the competitors had at the All-Star break. If they were tied, it was a coin toss. It just happened that two of the highest first-round scores were the first two batters in the competition. I am of the mindset that the Home Run Derby needs to have the most home runs possible. Analysts told us all week leading up to the event that Globe Life Field was hitter-friendly, yet Bohm’s 21 as the first batter of the entire event was the most in any one round. Last year’s Derby was at T-Mobile Park, which is not hitter-friendly and of the 14 times that a batter stepped into the box, nine ended with more than 21 home runs.
The perfect remedy is impossible, but it lies somewhere between a mix of outs and a time limit. Both create urgency, but I think hitters need a little more time so they aren’t rushed and to increase their chance to hit more home runs. Every year, it feels like one of the competitors ends up being somewhat of a dud — looking at you, 2009 Brandon Inge and 2012 Robinson Cano, who both ended with 0 — so a down performance here and there is likely, but this event should be almost arcade-y with how many home runs are hit.
Next year, I would like to see the field shortened to six batters, three from each league. While competing in the derby seems voluntary, I think there should be a minimum number of home runs for you to be eligible for the derby. Six batters theoretically means fewer home runs, but this would create the time needed for more of a grand introduction for the players and the timer on the rounds being extended. Pitchers won’t have to rush as much and may be able to get into more of a rhythm. Let’s say that the first two rounds increase to four minutes and 50 pitches, and we eliminate the bracket-style comp in the second round. Then, the final round is three minutes and 40 pitches.
To give credit where credit is due, the bonus rounds this year were great. They were untimed, consisting of three outs, with the ability for a batter to gain a fourth if they hit a home run of 425 ft. or further in bonus time. That caveat at the end wasn’t explained well until the actual derby, but bonus time was perfect and should be kept as is. Players could even get a fifth out if they hit a home run longer than 450 ft. in bonus time, just to entice more power swings. I don’t know who needs to be announcing the derby, but the vibes are missing from when Chris Berman used to say his iconic “back, back, back back” for each home run. Overall, I think if you eliminate the bracket-style entirely and find ways to increase the number of home runs hit, the derby will be must-see viewing again.