MLB Home Run Derby live updates: Who will slug their way to the title?
The MLB All-Star Break is here and the best players from around baseball are in Arlington, Texas, as the festivities get underway this week. The 2024 MLB Draft is already in the books, with the Guardians taking Travis Bazzana No. 1 overall out of Oregon State. Now the focus shifts to the Home Run Derby.
There are a few rule changes for this year — most importantly, the first round will be leaderboard style, rather than starting as a bracket-style competition, with the player with the highest home run total seeded first and the lowest seeded eighth. The opening round will see the top four scores advance to a bracket-style final four. There is also a total pitch limit in addition to the time limit. In the first two rounds, batters will have 40 pitches within three minutes, and in the finals, each batter will have 27 pitches over two minutes. You can read more about the rule changes and get an in-depth look at each of the eight Derby participants here.
How to watch the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby
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Date: July 15, 2024
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Time: 8 p.m. ET
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Location: Globe Life Field | Arlington, Texas
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TV channel: ESPN
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Streaming: DirecTV Stream, Fubo, ESPN+
Stay with Yahoo Sports for complete coverage of the 2024 MLB Home Run Derby from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Live55 updates
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Semifinals are set
Gunnar Henderson is eliminated, and the semifinals are set. Henderson posts a first-round low tally of 11 home runs. Alec Bohm, José Ramírez, Bobby Witt Jr. and Teoscar Hernández all advance. The Derby reverts to a head-to-head format for the semifinals. Each batter gets 40 swings in regulation, like the first round.
José Ramírez vs. Bobby Witt Jr.
Alec Bohm vs. Teoscar Hernández
First-round totals:
Alec Bohm: 21
José Ramírez: 21
Bobby Witt Jr.: 20
Teoscar Hernández: 19
Adolis García: 18
Marcell Ozuna: 16
Pete Alonso: 12
Gunnar Henderson: 11
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The Derby now reverts to a head-to-head format for the semifinals. Each batter gets 40 swings in regulation, like the first round.
José Ramírez vs. Bobby Witt Jr.
Alec Bohm vs. Teoscar Hernández
Witt is up first.
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One more time ICYMI. Phillies slugger Alec Bohm reveled in the elimination of Mets slugger and two-time Derby champ Pete Alonso. As did the Phillies’ social media team:
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Gunnar Henderson rounds out the first round, misses the semis
My pick to win the Derby, Gunnar Henderson, was a slow starter in his first round. But after an early timeout, the man with the most regular-season homers in the field finished with 11 homers in this contest and missed the semifinals.
I guess the Scooby Doo bat didn’t give him extra power after all.
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Meanwhile, here’s Marcell Ozuna’s 473-foot blast:
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Gunnar Henderson has serious work to do in his bonus round. Finishes with 11 home runs in regulation. Needs 20 to guarantee his spot in the semifinals.
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Marcell Ozuna out after hitting 16 in first round
With 262 career home runs to his name, it was a moderate surprise that Marcell Ozuna had never competed in a Home Run Derby until this year. But that inexperience seemed to show in his inaugural Derby round, as he couldn’t quite find the rhythm necessary to rack up enough homers to advance to the semifinals, finishing with 16.
Ozuna did hit the two farthest home runs of the night, at 473 and 471 feet, but a handful of tape-measure shots are worth only so much in this Derby setting. We’re now heading toward a semifinals that just might feature three of the four hitters who entered the night with the fewest regular-season home runs. Weird!
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It took him nine swings for his first home run, but Henderson found a groove. Four home runs through 16 pitches before his timeout with 1:39 remaining.
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Orioles slugger Gunnar Henderson is the last batter of the first round. Twenty home runs will secure a spot in the semifinals.
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Marcell Ozuna has the longest home run of the night but doesn’t advance to the semifinals. His 16-home run tally leaves him in the bottom half of the field and secures a spot in the second round for Bobby Witt Jr.
Alec Bohm: 21
José Ramírez: 21
Bobby Witt Jr.: 20
Teoscar Hernández: 19
Adolis García: 18
Marcell Ozuna: 16
Pete Alonso: 12 -
Ozuna crushed multiple 400-foot-plus home runs after his timeout to increase his tally to 14. A 473-footer was the longest of the night. Has work to do in his bonus round.
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Marcell Ozuna is at the plate, the seventh of eight first-round batters. Takes his timeout with four home runs and 22 pitches remaining. Lot of work to do.
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Alec Bohm with the savage needle after his NL East rival Pete Alonso was eliminated:
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José Ramírez ties Bohm atop the leaderboard
There are few players who walk to the plate with more confidence that J-Ram. And in a competition in which he’s the smallest hitter, of course he ties Alec Bohm for the best round, with 21 dingers.
None of Ramírez’s homers went more than 419 feet. He’s the best.
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José Ramírez was dialed in in his bonus round. Added six home runs including a 402-footer to reach 21 and secure his spot in the second round. Standings after six batters with Bohm and Ramírez guaranteed to advance.
Alec Bohm: 21
José Ramírez: 21
Bobby Witt Jr.: 20
Teoscar Hernández: 19
Adolis García: 18
Pete Alonso: 12 -
Pete Alonso out after disappointing round
Welp. That was not what anyone was expecting. Pete Alonso — the first player ever to compete in five consecutive Derbies — could not get in a groove in his first round and finished with a lackluster 12 total homers, ensuring that he will not advance to the semifinals no matter how the final three batters fare.
There was some excitement about the return of Dave Jauss as Alonso’s pitcher for the Derby, as the former Mets bench coach was Alonso’s Derby thrower when he last won the event in 2021 and again in 2022. Alas, Jauss seemed to struggle with his location and was throwing noticeably softer than the other Derby pitchers, leaving it all on Alonso to supply the power. It was not to be.
Will we see Alonso back in 2025 for a sixth straight Derby? After three consecutive losses, I’m not so sure. But I wouldn’t put it past him, either.
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Ramírez slowed down after his timeout and has some work to do in his bonus round to secure a spot in the second round. 15 home runs before his bonus round.
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Ramírez is off to a strong start. 10 home runs in 21 swings before his timeout. 1:25 remaining.
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Guardians slugger José Ramírez is now at the plate.
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“Swing at everything, and pull it” — Alec Bohm with Derby tips to ESPN after securing his spot in the second round.
