MATCHUPS SET FOR 2022 T-MOBILE HOME RUN DERBY

Two-Time Defending Champion Pete Alonso Seeks First Three-Peat in Derby History;

 National League Home Run Leader Kyle Schwarber Earns Top Seed;

 Albert Pujols to Compete for Fifth Time, Rookie Julio Rodríguez to Make Derby Debut;

 Ronald Acuña Jr., José Ramírez, Corey Seager and Juan Soto Round Out Field

          Two-time defending T-Mobile Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, 11-time All-Star Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and National League home run leader Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies are among the eight participants in the 2022 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, which will be held on Monday, July 18^th at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and broadcast live by ESPN beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (PT).  The matchups were officially announced earlier this evening on ESPN’s Home Run Derby Bracket Show.

            The Derby also features Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, José Ramírez of the Cleveland Guardians, rookie phenom Julio Rodríguez of the Seattle Mariners, Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers, and Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals.

            In the opening round, the top-seeded Schwarber (28 home runs through Wednesday) will square off against the number eight seed Pujols (six home runs); Alonso (23 home runs) will be the two seed and face the seventh-seeded Acuña Jr. (eight home runs); Seager (21 home runs), the number three seed, will take on the number six seed Rodríguez (15 home runs); and the fourth-seeded Soto (19 home runs) will meet the number five seed Ramírez (17 home runs).  Seeding was determined by each participant’s home run total through Wednesday’s games.  See the accompanying file for the full 2022 T-Mobile Home Run Derby bracket.

            Schwarber will compete in his second Derby after advancing to the final round at Nationals Park in 2018, where he was edged out by his current Phillies teammate Bryce Harper.  Schwarber will become the sixth Phillies player (eighth appearance) to participate in the event, joining Hall of Famer Jim Thome (2004); 2005 winner Bobby Abreu; 2006 winner Ryan Howard (also 2007 and 2009); Chase Utley (2008); and teammate Rhys Hoskins (2018).

            Alonso, who will attempt to become the first player ever to win the Derby on three consecutive occasions, joined Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Céspedes (2013-14) as the only back-to-back champions following his win in Colorado last year.  Griffey Jr., who also won the 1994 Derby, is the only player to ever win three times in his career.  Alonso remains one of five Mets players to partake in the Derby, joining 1986 co-winner Darryl Strawberry (also 1990); Howard Johnson (1989, 1991); Bobby Bonilla (1993); and David Wright (2006, 2013).

            Seager will participate in the Derby for a second time after competing with the Dodgers as a rookie in 2016, when he was defeated in the opening round by Mark Trumbo.  Seager will become the 11^th different Rangers player (12^th appearance) to participate in the Derby, joining 1989 co-winner Ruben Sierra; 1993 winner Juan Gonzalez; Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez (2000); Alex Rodriguez (2001-02); Hank Blalock (2004); Mark Teixeira (2005); Josh Hamilton (2008); Nelson Cruz (2009); Prince Fielder (2015); and Joey Gallo (2021).

            Soto will make his second career Derby appearance after advancing to the semifinals in Colorado last year, where he was bested by Alonso.  The Dominican Republic native remains just the second player in Nationals history to participate in the event, joining 2018 champion Harper (also 2013).

            Ramírez, who will be competing in his first career Derby, will try to become the first player in Cleveland’s franchise history to win the event.  Overall, the Dominican Republic native will be the sixth Cleveland player (ninth appearance) to partake in the showcase, joining Albert Belle (1993-95); Manny Ramirez (1995); Thome (1997-98); Grady Sizemore (2008); and former teammate Carlos Santana (2019).

            Rodríguez, also competing in his first Derby, will become the seventh player in Mariners history to compete (14^th appearance), joining three-time champion Griffey Jr. (1990, 1992-94, 1997-99); Jay Buhner (1996); Alex Rodriguez (1998); Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez (2000); Bret Boone (2001 and 2003); and Robinson Canó (2016).  The 21-year-old will become the 13^th rookie to participate in the Derby, joining Wally Joyner (1986); Jose Canseco (1986); Mark McGwire (1987); Hall of Famer Mike Piazza (1993); Evan Longoria (2008); Kris Bryant (2015); Joc Pederson (2015); Seager (2016); Cody Bellinger (2017); Aaron Judge (2017); Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2019); and Alonso (2019).  Judge and Alonso are the only rookies to win the Derby.

            Acuña Jr. will be appearing in his second Derby after advancing to the semifinals in 2019, where he was defeated by Alonso.  The Venezuela native is one of 10 players in Braves history to compete, and it marks the franchise’s 13^th appearance overall, joining Dale Murphy (1985); Ozzie Virgil (1987); David Justice (1993); Fred McGriff (1994); Hall of Famer Chipper Jones (1997-98, 2000); Javy Lopez (1998); Gary Sheffield (2003); Andruw Jones (2005); and former teammate Freddie Freeman (2018).

            Pujols will contend in his fifth Derby, following appearances in 2003, 2007 and 2009 with St. Louis, as well as 2015 with the Los Angeles Angels.  The Dominican Republic native becomes the sixth player ever to compete in the Derby at least five times, joining Griffey Jr. (eight times); Mark McGwire (seven); Barry Bonds (six); Prince Fielder (six); and Sammy Sosa (5).  Pujols was topped in the finals in 2003 by Garret Anderson before semifinals exits in 2007, 2009 and 2015.  The appearance by Pujols will mark the 12^th overall by seven different Cardinals in history, joining Jack Clark (1985); Ray Lankford (1997); McGwire (1998-99); Jim Edmonds (2003); Matt Holliday (2010-11); and Carlos Beltrán (2012).

            Schwarber and Seager will become the 23^rd and 24^th players to participate in the Derby for multiple teams, and the first since Canó, Todd Frazier and Trumbo all did so in 2016.

The T-Mobile Home Run Derby Bracket Challenge is back giving fans a chance to predict the results of the Derby at Dodger Stadium.  Beginning today, fans can enter at mlb.com/bracket.  One perfect bracket will win $100,000 with additional prizes including a new T-Mobile device and one (1) year of T-Mobile service.  Fans can submit their picks through 7:59 p.m. (ET) on July 18^th.

ESPN will exclusively televise the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday, July 18^th at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (PT).  The Derby will also be available in Spanish on ESPN Deportes, as well as ESPN2, which will offer a Statcast-driven alternate viewing experience for the Derby alongside the traditional telecast.  The Derby is also available on ESPN Radio, Univision Radio and the ESPN App.  For more information, please visit www.allstargame.com.

 2022 T-Mobile Home Run Derby Rules

Bracket Format:

• Single-elimination tournament in which loser of each bracket is eliminated.

Timing:

• The regulation period of rounds 1 & 2 will be 3:00 minutes per batter.
• The regulation period of the final round will be 2:00 minutes per batter
• The timer starts with release of the first pitch, and a round ends when the timer strikes zero.  A home run shall count provided the pitch was released before the timer strikes zero.
• Each batter is allowed to call one 45-second time out in the regulation period of each round (including in the final round). No time outs are permitted in the bonus period.

Bonus Time:

• All batters will be awarded 30 seconds of bonus time following the regulation period of each round.
• A batter will be awarded an additional 30 seconds of bonus time if he hits at least two home runs that equals or exceeds 440 feet in the regulation period of that round.  If this occurs, the bonus time for the round will be 60 seconds.
• The bonus period – whether it is 30 seconds or 60 seconds – is a single time segment, with no time outs.
• After the regulation period, a batter is allowed a short break before his bonus period begins.
• During the bonus period, a special T-Mobile magenta ball will be used.

Scoring/Advancement:

• Batter with most home runs hit in each matchup will advance to next round.
• Ties in any round will be broken by a 60-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added; if a tie remains after the swing-off, batters will engage in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner.
• If the second batter hits more than the first batter in any matchup, he will be declared the winner and not attempt to hit additional home runs.  If this occurs during the regulation period, the batter will not need the bonus period.