MLB All-Star break has arrived with the Home Run Derby set to take place tonight. Baseball’s top hitters will showcase their blend of strength and pure swing to put an entertaining product on the field. Cal Raleigh headlines the eight-man competition, which will compete to launch as many home runs over the Truist Park fences in Atlanta.
There are a variety of markets offered on DraftKings Sportsbook, including head-to-head matchups, exit velocity, distance of home run, as well as the overall winner.
You can also bet on DraftKings Sportsbook for the longest home run in Home Run Derby history tonight at +2,000 odds.
Longest Home Run in Home Run Derby History
There have been some significant advancements since 2016 in tracking baseballs for their distance. This point forward is considered the Statcast tracking era.
In MLB Home Run Derby history, the longest home run is believed to have come from Sammy Sosa back in 2002. Sosa is estimated to have launched a ball 524 feet out of Miller Park in Milwaukee and also hit a 520-foot home run in the same contest. Still, Jason Giambi went on to win the Derby that year.
Since the Statcast tracking era started, Juan Soto claimed this title with a 520-foot home run during the 2021 Derby. Trevor Story fell just shy of him with a 518-foot home run during the same competition at Coors Field, but it was Pete Alonso who was ultimately crowned the winner. Alonso sent a ball 514 feet in this same contest.
There have been 18 total home runs of over 500 feet in MLB Home Run Derby history, with eight of these coming in the Statcast era. Soto, Story, Alonso, Aaron Judge (four times) and Shohei Ohtani make up the list of players to accomplish this with the new tracking data, while Sosa (four times), Frank Thomas, Josh Hamilton, Bobby Abreu, Mark McGwire, Giancarlo Stanton and Prince Fielder eclipsed 500 feet before technology advanced.
The batting practice style format of the Home Run Derby makes it difficult to read too deeply into the distance shown during the season by each competitor. Byron Buxton (+950) has posted the second-longest home run in the majors this season at 479 feet. Only Mike Trout has hit one further at 484 feet. Oneil Cruz (+330) smashed a ball a projected 463 feet this year and also has recorded 11 of the 19 fastest exit velocities in Major League Baseball since his debut in 2022. Betting favorite Cal Raleigh (+295) has smashed a home run 440 feet this year, while Jazz Chisholm (+1100) is quietly in the mix with a 442-foot home run this season. James Wood has a pair of 451-foot home runs this season.
Another factor worth noting is the environment in which tonight’s event will take place. It is not a coincidence that five of the 18 longest home runs in Home Run Derby history took place in Coors Field in Denver. The elevation helped give a clear path for balls to travel, and this will not exactly be the case in Atlanta today. Truist Park is not a dome, and there will be some light wind expected tonight.
Between this field of hitters and the conditions, it doesn’t seem like a new record will be set tonight. It takes just one swing for this to change, but the better option may be betting on individual players’ distances for home runs rather than taking the +2,000 swing of history being made.
