NEWSLETTER
Tonight is the home run derby and it figures to be a pretty good one. Indeed, the first matchup of the night between Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto is the one I’m looking forward to most, but there are great stories all over the board (man … I wish Kyle Schwarber was in this one).
Matchup #1: Shohei Ohtani vs. Juan Soto
Matchup #2: Joey Gallo vs. Trevor Story
Matchup #3: Matt Olson vs. Trey Mancini
Matchup #4: Salvador Perez vs. Pete Alonso
My Guesses:Â
Left side: (1) Ohtani beats Soto, (2) Alonso beats Perez, (3) Ohtani beats Alonso
Right ride: (1) Gallo beats Story, (2) Mancini beats Olson, (3) Gallo beats Mancini
Championship:Â Gallo beats Ohtani
And with the event held in Denver’s Coors Field, the balls should be flying just fine tonight. Here’s some more info on what to expect.
•  Location: Coors Field
•  Time: 7:00 CT
•  Broadcast Info: ESPN
2021 MLB HR DERBY:
Format:Â The event will be a single elimination bracket, with three total rounds. In the first two rounds, each batter will get three minutes/round (down from four minutes in 2019) to hit as many home runs as possible. The clock starts with the release of the first pitch and ends when the timer hits zero (if a pitch is thrown before the clock hits zero, the home run will count). In the final round, each player has just two minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. The player with the most home runs advances.
Timeouts: Players can stop the clock once for 45 seconds in each round, but only during regulation (i.e. not during “Bonus Time”)
Bonus Time:Â 30 seconds of bonus time will be awarded to all batters (which makes me wonder if that’s actually even “bonus” time, but whatever) at the end of regulation. And an additional 30 seconds will be awarded for hitting at least one home run that equals or exceeds 475 feet in regulation time. Batters will get a one-minute break before bonus time begins,.
Tie-breakers:Â Ties in any round will be broken by a 60-second swing-off with no time stoppage. If that results in a tie, batters will square up in a three-swing swing off until there is a winner. If that results in a tie, two-man sack races will be held on consecutive Sunday’s until a winner is crowned.
