Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby will celebrate its 30th birthday with a new look.
While the Derby has been subject to its fair share of rule changes in the past several years, this year’s makeover focuses on a change already made to regular-season games: the length.
MLB Communications recently tweeted a PDF of the new format for the 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby, which will be held at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park on July 13.
One of the more notable rules is the addition of timed rounds that will more than likely decrease the length of the competition, which ran for more than three hours in 2014.
In previous Derbys, batters tried to hit as many home runs as possible before committing a certain number of outs (non-home runs) in each round.
However, batters were allowed to take an unlimited number of pitches since swinging and missing or flubbing a bad pitch would result in an out. Taking pitches also allowed the hitters to gather themselves and regain some energy before taking their next vicious cut.
While good strategy for competitors, each round could tend to drag on—especially if a batter was producing several long balls. If a batter hit 10 home runs and took an average of three pitches per swing, the end result would be at least 60 thrown pitches and a potentially lengthy round.
This year, “outs” are out. Instead, a running five-minute clock is in, and batters will try to hit as many home runs as possible in that time period.
In a way, it’s similar to a session of batting practice before the game, when the concentration is more on swings and not pitch location.
That new mentality could make it much easier to produce home runs while also alleviating some of the pressure that hitters might put on themselves while trying to find the perfect pitch.
“Five minutes? Think about batting practice. You can hit 20 homers in batting practice,” two-time home run champion Prince Fielder told the Star-Telegram‘s Jeff Wilson in late June.
The new rules state that the clock will start after the first pitch is thrown and will stop for any home run hit during the final minute of competition. The clock will start back up again if a hit does not clear the wall or a batter swings and misses.
Sluggers will also be rewarded with different bonuses if their blast surpasses at least 420 feet in each round. The rules state that the distances will be measured using Statcast.
MLB.com’s Paul Casella further explains the new format, which pits competitors in an eight-player bracket that is seeded based on regular-season home run totals as of July 7. If a tie should occur in one of the three rounds, players will compete in a 90-second swing-off.
So why should viewers tune in?
For one, the Derby almost always provides at least one round of excitement, such as Josh Hamilton’s 28 first-round home runs in 2008 or Bobby Abreu’s record of 41 total home runs en route to the title in 2005.
Also, the added rule changes will most likely produce an increase in home runs and a decrease in overall time, which could potentially help to bring out more sluggers—and viewers—to next year’s Derby, depending on this year’s success.
Though the list of participants has yet to be announced, notably absent will be Giancarlo Stanton, the current MLB home run leader who will miss the Derby while recovering from wrist surgery.
However, his absence shouldn’t take away from other interesting storylines, such as the possibility of Yoenis Cespedes competing to win his third consecutive Derby crown or an up-and-coming star taking a shot at winning the title.
On the surface, the new rules for the 2015 Home Run Derby should benefit both competitors and fans as well as bring back some of the excitement that might have been lacking in past years.
The potential is certainly there. Time will tell if it will be fulfilled.
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