2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Rules
Batting Order and Bracket:
In the first round, all eight participants will hit in an order determined by the Office of the Commissioner.
The four batters with the most home runs in the first round will advance to a single-elimination second round bracket.
The bracket shall be seeded based on the first-round home run totals, with ties broken by awarding the higher seed to the batter with the longest home run in the first round (i.e., the batter with the most home runs in the first round will be seeded against the batter with the fourth-highest home run total). Any tie thereafter shall be broken by a coin flip.
The player with the higher seed in any given bracket shall have the option of hitting first or second in that round.
2022 NL LatinoMVP Rookie of the Year Oneil Cruz (Nizao, Dominican Republic) is ready for the 2025 Home Run Derby – Image Credit: Ruben Magana/Latino Sports
Scoring and Advancement:
Home runs shall be counted toward a batter’s total score, and any swings or hits that result in anything other than a home run shall not be counted.
Ties in the first round will be broken by longest home run hit in that round (e.g., if two players are tied for the fourth-most home runs, the player with the longest home run advances to the second round). Ties in the second or third round shall be broken by the batters engaging in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner.
In the second or third round, once the second batter in a bracket hits one more home run than the first batter in that bracket, the second batter shall be declared the winner of that bracket and shall not attempt to hit any additional home runs.
With a HR Derby victory Monday night, Junior Caminero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) would become the youngest player ever in MLB history to win the Derby – Image Credit: MLB
Length of Rounds:
For the first round, each batter shall have up to 3:00 minutes or be pitched up to 40 balls, whichever ends first, to hit as many home runs as possible.
For the second round (semi-finals) and third round (finals), each batter shall have up to 2:00 minutes or be pitched up to 27 balls, whichever ends first, to hit as many home runs as possible.
The timer will count down beginning with the release of the first pitch.
A home run shall count provided the pitch was released before the timer strikes zero. Timers will be placed in appropriate places on and off the field, with certain timers clearly visible to the batter.
In all rounds, including the final round, each batter shall have the right to call one “time out” per round (no time outs during bonus periods).
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Nassau, Bahamas) is one of three internationally-born MLB players in this year’s Home Run Derby: Chisholm Jr., Caminero and Cruz – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Bonus Period:
All batters will be awarded three “outs” following the Regulation Period of each round.
An out is defined as any swing that does not result in a home run.
A batter will be awarded an additional out if he hits at least one home run that equals or exceeds 425 feet in the Bonus Period of that round.
Image Credit: MLB
Press Release Courtesy of Major League Baseball
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