Major League Baseball Eliminates the Clock for 2026 All-Star Home Run Derby
8 players. 3 rounds. 1 Liberty Bell chain. And a new format to shake things up for kicks. How will things work this year for this fan favorite event? Well, Major League Baseball has decided to eliminate the clock for the 2026 All-Star Home Run Derby.
Formats in sports continue to change and be tweaked in hopes of keeping viewers entertained and heavily engaged. For instance, in the NBA the ASG has undergone a number of formats; including most recently a USA versus the World tournament. Nevertheless, MLB continues to transform its game as well from pitch clocks, ABS, larger bases and such. Now the league is playing around with ideas for its All-Star Derby.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan is so far not a fan of the new change and concept. Passan on his expectations for the Home Run Derby tonight with the latest format changes, he says,
“I think it’s going to stink… the whole reason the timer came in, in the first place, is because it felt really slow and the timer brought urgency.”
So for Passan, the clock creates drama. That drama is now gone. Those competing in this All-Stars Derby will not have to feel the pressure of the seconds ticking by. They can just concentrate on their batting. And fans will get more time to appreciate a nice dinger and where it landed. But overall how will the Derby format work? According to the league,
“Major League Baseball is doing away with the timer that’s governed the Home Run Derby since 2015, reverting to a swing-based format for this year’s competition at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 13 — the first Derby to stream live on Netflix.
Eight players will still make up the field, same as in years past. But instead of trying to hit as many homers as they can during timed rounds, participants will start each round with a finite number of swings: 20 in Round 1, 15 in Round 2 and 15 again in the final round.
All swings will count against a player’s swing allotment, whether it results in a homer or not. However, a player who homers on his final swing of a round can keep swinging until he doesn’t hit one out.”
Major League Baseball Eliminates the Clock for 2026 All-Star Home Run Derby
Whether fans will like the new format or not will be determined this evening. However, for now there’s some cool Home Run Derby fun facts to chew on. Here are three to keep in mind tonight:
Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are the first teammates to participate in the same Derby in their home ballpark since Stanton and Bour back in 2017.
Ben Rice and Jac Caglianone will both have their fathers pitch to them.
Bryce Harper is the only defending champion in the field (2018).
If you’re still a little confused about tonight’s format; here’s a brief breakdown:
HRD Format: Quick facts
- No timer and no “outs”
- Round 1: 20 swings
- Round 2: 15 swings
- Finals: 15 swings
- Each swing counts toward a player’s allotment, homer or not
- If you homer on your last swing in any round, you keep going until you do not homer
- There is no bonus round and there is no “bracket” for the first round
- Tiebreakers: HR Distance (Round 1); three-swing swing-offs (Rounds 2 and 3)
The T‑Mobile Home Run Derby is LIVE TONIGHT on Netflix at 8PM ET | 5PM PT. Special coverage begins at 7PM ET | 4PM PT.
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