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The Astros don’t have anyone in the home run derby in 2017. Which frankly in my eyes is good. But if you want to talk about it with the TCB family here ya go. Enjoy.
The contestants
- Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins
- Aaron Judge, Yankees
- Cody Bellinger, Dodgers
- Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals
- Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins
- Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies
- Justin Bour, Marlins
- Gary Sanchez, Yankees
Format & rules
This tournament is a single-elimination format, with each duo facing off for four minutes each round. The higher seed bats second in each matchup.
Our own Grant Brisbee judged all the Home Run Derby contestants. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
The timer in each round starts when the first pitch is thrown, and a subsequent pitch can’t be thrown until the batted ball is caught, ruled a home run, hits the ground, or leaves the field in foul territory.
In the first two rounds, each batter is allowed one 45-second timeout. In the finals both batters are allowed two timeouts, one of 45 seconds and the other 30 seconds.
If a player hits two home runs of at least 440 feet during the round, he will be awarded 30 seconds of bonus time at the end of his round.
The hitter with the highest home run total in each matchup moves on to the next round. If the two hitters are tied, they will engage in a 60-second swing-off. If they are still tied after that, the two hitters engage in successive three-swing swing-offs, which sounds amazing. Sadly, that has not happened yet in previous Home Run Derbies under the new format.
Broadcast info
ESPN will televise the Home Run Derby beginning at 8 p.m. ET, with Karl Ravech (in place of Chris Berman), Jessica Mendoza, Mark Teixeira, and Buster Olney on the call. ESPN2 will televise the event in Spanish.
Online streaming is available through WatchESPN.