Home Run Derby 2017: Complete rules

In the third year using the new format for the Home Run Derby, here are the complete rules for the fan-favorite event.

The Home Run Derby began utilizing a new format in the 2015 edition of the event, and it definitely strays from the old tradition of just trying to outdo every other competitor before you hit 10 outs.

The new rules for the Derby feature more of a bracket-like format, with seeding and one-on-one battles between some of the best home run hitters that the league has to offer. It’s a bracket with eight competitors, with last year’s champion Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins leading the NL and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees pacing the AL.

In the new format, each competitor goes for four minutes, attempting to hit as many home runs as possible without having to worry about outs or waiting for the perfect pitch. And, to make things even more interesting for those who serious power, if players can hit two home runs over 440 feet, they get 30 extra seconds added to their four minutes of swings.

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In the four-minute spurts, players have the ability to call a timeout to give themselves some rest, and not just swinging for four minutes straight. Batters in the first two rounds of the event are able to take one 45-second break in each round, and then get two timeouts if they make it to the finals.

In order to win the entire Derby, a player will have to win three matchups throughout the night. Hopefully, for our sake, we see the top seed on each half of the bracket, Stanton and Judge, battle in the finals of the mini “tournament”, and we could see Stanton try to top the performance he put on last year.