Home Run Derby
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The Home Run Derby is an event played prior to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It is a contest among the top home run hitters in Major League Baseball to determine who can hit the most home runs.
Eight players are selected for the Home Run Derby and compete in a traditional playoff system where the players with the most home runs advance to the next round. Each player gets ten "outs" per round, where an out is defined as any swing that is not a home run in this case. Should a tie exist between players at the end of any round, the number of regular-season home runs by the All-Star break is the first tiebreaker and the distance of the longest home run in the first round is the second tiebreaker.
Prior to 1991, the Home Run Derby was structured as a two-inning event with each player receiving five outs per inning which allowed for the possibility of ties.
Home Run Derby winners
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Year |
Player |
Team |
Number of home runs |
|---|---|---|---|
|
27 | |||
|
22 | |||
|
24 | |||
|
16 | |||
|
26 | |||
|
16 | |||
|
19 | |||
|
16 | |||
|
17 | |||
|
15 | |||
|
7 | |||
|
7 | |||
|
12 | |||
|
12 | |||
|
3 | |||
|
3 | |||
|
Canceled due to rain | |||
|
4 | |||
|
4 | |||
|
6 | |||
Television Show
Home Run Derby was also the name of a 1959 television show held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles pitting sluggers like Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron against each other in 9-inning home run contests. The rules were not unlike modern Home Run Derbies; however, the television show also added as an out any called strike. Nine future Hall of Famers would eventually participate in the series.
Batters were given 3 outs per inning, and the player with the most home runs after nine innings wins. If the players were tied after that time, the derby would go into extra innings as per regular baseball. The winner received $2,000 and was invited back for the next week's episode against a new opponent.
The show was also unique in that the host, Mark Scott, would often chat with each player while his opponent was batting.
External link
- MLB.com: 2004 Home Run Derby (http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/events/all_star/y2004/hr_derby.jsp)
- Baseball-Almanac.com: Home Run Derby Results and Analysis (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/hrderby.shtml)