There are a lot of reasons to love baseball, but the long ball will forever remain the most exciting part of the sport. Now, eight of the best home run hitters in MLB will face each other in the 2024 Home Run Derby as a part of All-Star Week. The winner will be crowned the best home run hitter in the sport. Check out the gallery to learn everything that you need to know about the event.
How to watch the Home Run Derby
All-Star Week has already begun, and the Home Run Derby is the next big event. The long-ball hitting showcase will be at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, July 15. The derby is at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the home of the defending champion Texas Rangers. Globe Life Field has dimensions of 329 feet to left field, 372 to left-center, 407 to center, 374 to right-center, and 326 to right field. It ranks as the eighth biggest field in MLB, meaning best MLB sluggers have it easy in Arlington.
The Home Run Derby will be broadcast on ESPN. You can also watch it with ESPN+ or the ESPN App, as well as on fuboTV. Pete Alonso is the favorite to hit the most homers.
Date: Monday, July 15 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Globe Life Field — Arlington, Texas
TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)
Odds: Pete Alonso +300
Participants
The 2024 Home Run Derby is implementing a new format. The first round of the derby will consist of all eight sluggers trying to hit as many homers as possible in either three minutes or 40 pitches. The four hitters with the most moon shots will advance to the next round in what will then be a bracket style competition. The semifinals will also consist of a 40 pitch/three minute maximum, but the final round will finish after two minutes or 27 pitches.
- 1B Pete Alonso, New York Mets
- 3B Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies
- OF Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers
- SS Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
- OF Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers
- DH Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves
- 3B Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
- SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
Predictions
Pete Alonso is one of only four multi-time Home Run Derby winners, and he is the favorite to win the event again this year. A third win for the Mets' star would put him in a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. for the most Home Run Derby wins with three. Alonso has competed in the event in each year it has taken place since 2019, so he has plenty of experience to make a run. However, with a new format being implemented, that experience might not matter. Alonso will be hitting pitches off of Dave Jauss. The former Mets bench coach who now works for the Washington Nationals is whom Alonso has had the most success with in the event.
However, Alonso has plenty of competition this year, including five first-time participants who are hungry to make a name for themselves. One such long-ball hitter is Gunnar Henderson. The Orioles shortstop is in only his second MLB season, but he has quickly helped transform Baltimore's offense into arguably the best in the game. Henderson's 28 homers are the third most in MLB and only trail Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. Those two players are not only arguably the two best players in baseball, but neither will partake in the Home Run Derby. Additionally, Henderson is ahead of the pack when it comes to average exit velocity and bat speed, as he ranks first in both of those metrics.
Alec Bohm is the surprise entry in this year's derby. The third baseman has pop and is an elite doubles hitter, and the top-ranked Phillies deserve representation, but Bohm has never been a prolific home run hitter. He has 11 this year, but his career-high for long balls is only 20.
Henderson and Bohm are both first-timers in the derby, as are Teoscar Hernandez, Marcell Ozuna, and Bobby Witt Jr. Hernandez is having his best season to date in his first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and that includes with the long ball. The outfielder has 19 home runs so far.
Ozuna is fresh off of a 40-home-run season last year, and he is already up to 26 homers this year. His power production has been a big reason why the Atlanta Braves have stayed afloat after Ronald Acuna Jr.'s season ending injury. Witt is one of the best up-and-comers in baseball, and he has true five-tool talent, so it'll be interesting to see how he competes with some of the best deep ball experts in the sport.
That makes five first-time participants, so Adolis Garcia and Jose Ramirez will join Alonso as Home Run Derby returners. Garcia was eliminated in the first round of last year's competition, while Ramirez lost in the first round the year prior. Both have the power to make a run in this year's contest, though.
We think Alonso, Henderson, Ozuna, and Witt will advance to the semifinals, where Alonso's experience and Henderson's raw talent will pay off and land them in a head-to-head matchup to win it all. While it is hard to pick against the two-time Home Run Derby champion, Alonso hasn't won the event in the last two seasons, and Henderson will be ready to make a name for himself. For that reason, we think Henderson will walk away with the Home Run Derby trophy.
Follow Us
Subscribe
