The 2024 Home Run Derby is fast approaching and baseball's midsummer power spectacle will have a new format this season on top of a great collection of talent. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the Home Run Derby in Seattle's T-Mobile Park last year, but he has not returned to the field to defend his title.
Below is everything you need to know about this year's Home Run Derby in Arlington, Texas, including who's in and who's out now that the field of eight contestants is set.
New format
The Home Run Derby has gone through many formats over the years and there will be a new one in effect in 2024. Gone are head-to-head matchups in the first round. Instead, all eight participants will compete against each other in the first round, and four will advance. Here's how the new format works:
First round: All eight players get three minutes or 40 pitches, whichever comes first, plus one timeout. The four leading home run hitters advance. Ties are broken using the longest home run distance. After the initial three minutes or 40 pitches, each player gets three bonus outs, where they continue hitting until three outs are recorded. Hitters can earn a fourth bonus out with a 425-foot homer in bonus time. This gives anyone who is trailing a chance to catch up because they can continue hitting homers in bonus time until they run out of outs.
Semifinals: The four remaining players are seeded 1-4 using first round home run totals, then it's 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 in head-to-head matchups. It's again three minutes or 40 pitches with one timeout. The same bonus time rules apply.
Finals: The final two players now have two minutes or 27 pitches with one timeout, and the same bonus time rules. The player with the most homers wins.
In recent years, the eight players were seeded 1-8 using regular-season home run totals, then there were head-to-head matchups and a single-elimination tournament to decide the Home Run Derby. There was a time limit (three minutes in the first and second round, two minutes in the finals) but no pitch limit. Last year, no player saw fewer than 43 pitches in a round, so the new 40-pitch limit will speed things up and put a premium on efficiency (i.e. home runs per pitch).
The field
On June 30, Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson became the first player to commit to the 2024 Home Run Derby. The 23-year-old wunderkind is on pace to become the second 50-homer shortstop in baseball history, joining Alex Rodriguez (52 in 2001 and 57 in 2002). This will be Henderson's first Home Run Derby appearance. Two O's have won the Home Run Derby previously: Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. (1991) and Miguel Tejada (2004).
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm on July 5 became the second batsman and first National League entrant to commit to the Derby. This season, Bohm, 27, at this writing leads the NL in RBI and the majors in doubles. He's on pace to come in at around 20 homers for the season. That's not a particularly lofty total for a Derby participant, but Bohm does hit the ball fairly hard with a better-than-average rate of fly balls. He'll try to become the third Phillies player to win the Home Run Derby. Previously, Bobby Abreu won it in 2005 and then Ryan Howard in 2006.
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso became the third entrant to commit to the Derby just hours after being selected to his fourth career All-Star Game. Alonso is as seasoned as a Derby contestant can be, having previously won the 2019 and 2021 competitions. This will be Alonso's fifth Derby overall. He was eliminated in the first round last summer as part of a head-to-head battle with Mariners star Julio Rodríguez.
On July 8, Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. announced he will participate in this year's Home Run Derby. Witt, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft, broke out with 30 homers and 49 steals last season, and he's on pace to put up similar numbers this year. He is one of the game's top power/speed threats and simply one of the most dynamic players in baseball. Witt will be the first Royals player in the Home Run Derby since Salvador Perez in 2021. No Royal has ever won the event.
Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna will be part of the Home Run Derby, it was announced on July 8. Ozuna has been one of the best hitters in baseball this season and really since last May, when his torrid hot streak began. He will be the first Braves player other than Ronald Acuña Jr. to participate in the Home Run Derby since Freddie Freeman in 2018. No Brave has ever won the Home Run Derby.
Guardians third baseman and philosopher-king José Ramírez on July 9 committed to being part of the 2024 Home Run Derby field. This will be Ramírez's second derby. He previously took part in 2022, but an undisclosed-at-the-time thumb injury played a leading role in his first-round exit. With 239 career homers to his credit, the switch-hitting Ramírez has long been one of the game's top power threats. He presently has 23 home runs for this season. No Cleveland player has ever won the derby.
Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia was announced as the seventh member of the Derby field. He'll be the hometown favorite, as the All-Star Game will be hosted at his home park in Arlington, Texas. Garcia also partook in last year's Derby, losing in the first round to Randy Arozarena. Garcia has homered 17 times in his first 87 games this season.
Teoscar Hernández was announced as the final Derby entrant on July 10. Hernández has never competed previously even though his 147 home runs from 2018-23 were a top-25 mark in baseball. This season -- his first with the Dodgers -- Hernández has hit 19 home runs through his first 90 games played.
Not participating
Despite leading the sport in home runs, Yankees star Aaron Judge will once again pass on the Home Run Derby. He has not participated in it since winning the 2017 event as a rookie. Judge has said he will do the Home Run Derby again when the All-Star Game returns to New York, otherwise it doesn't sound like something he is eager to do. New York last hosted the All-Star Game in 2013, when it was at Citi Field. The Yankees last hosted the All-Star Game in 2008, the final year of the old Yankee Stadium.
On July 1, Astros masher Yordan Alvarez said the Home Run Derby is "something I'm not super motivated to do at this moment," according to The Athletic. Alvarez has slugged 30-plus home runs each of the last three years and he's on pace to do it again in 2024. He has never participated in the Home Run Derby and no Astros player has ever won it, either.
Similar to Judge, his Yankees teammate, Juan Soto will skip the Home Run Derby this season. "No, not this year," he told Newsday on July 4. Soto won the 2022 Home Run Derby and advanced to the second round in 2021. This is his free agent year, of course, and Soto had a little forearm injury scare last month. He has an awful lot on the line this season. It's no surprise then that Soto is passing on the Home Run Derby. No need to assume the injury risk.
Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani initially said he would like to take his hacks in the Home Run Derby, though he's since indicated that's unlikely on account of last September's elbow surgery. "I'm in the middle of my rehab progression, so it's not going to look like I'll be participating," he said on July 2. Ohtani has participated in the Home Run Derby once before. He was eliminated in a first-round tiebreaker by Juan Soto in 2021.
