MMO Home Run Derby Thread: Alonso Seeks Redemption, 8 PM

Monday, July 15, 2024 • 8:00 pm ET
Arlington, TX
ESPN

After a disappointing exit in the first round of the 2023 Home Run Derby to hometown hero Julio Rodríguez, Mets slugger Pete Alonso is back and ready to reclaim his throne. He looks to join Ken Griffey Jr. as the only two players to win the Derby thrice.

Pete enters the Derby with a record 195 homers hit during the event. To show how dominant Alonso has been here, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the 2023 winner, has 163 total homers. Albert Pujols, who participated in the event five times during his illustrious career, has 106 Derby homers.

Alonso is currently tied for 14th in homers in baseball with 19. He’ll face off against Gunnar Henderson (28), Bobby Witt Jr. (16), Alec Bohm (11), Marcell Ozuna (26), Teoscar Hernández (19), Adolis García ( 17) and José Ramírez (23).

Former Mets bench coach Dave Jauss will throw to Alonso. Jauss threw to Alonso when he won the 2021 Derby in Cincinnati.

For 2024, MLB has implemented a new format and rules for the Derby. They are as follows:

• No knockout stage until the semifinal round
  • This means that the top four batters will advance to the semifinals.
  • If there is a tie (two players hit the same number of home runs, the tiebreaker will be whichever player hits the furthest home run that round)

• There is a pitch limit!
  • The first two rounds are still three minutes, and the final round is two.
    • For the first two rounds, the round is over when either the three minutes is up, or the batter has seen 40 pitches (whichever comes first)
    • For the final round, the round is over when either two minutes or 27 pitches, whichever comes first, excluding the bonus round.

• Bonus pitches are no longer on a timer.
  • Instead of getting 30 seconds, each player receives bonus pitches until they record three outs.
    • If a player hits a home run 425 feet+ during the bonus period, the period is extended to four outs.

• Ties in the semifinals and finals are still broken with a swing-off once the knockout stage begins.
• Batters still get a single 45-second timeout in each regulation period.

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