The 2025 Home Run Derby is taking place at Truist Park on Monday, July 14, beginning at 5 p.m. PT. It’s airing live on ESPN and can also be streamed via DirecTV Stream, Fubo, ESPN+ and Watch ESPN app.
The group of participants includes five American League players and three from the National League. The annual Derby has been won by an NL player in five of the last six events.
Home Run Derby hitters are going to wear special event jerseys that pay tribute to Babe Ruth (American League) and Hank Aaron (National League).
Teoscar Hernández won’t be attempting to defend his title as he passed on the opportunity to repeat in the interest of health and focusing on the second half of the season.
Shohei Ohtani and Elly De La Cruz were among the other players who declined to participate this year. Ohtani cited the Home Run Derby format and his return to pitching as the reasons behind his decision.
Home Run Derby participants
The 2025 Home Run Derby field consists of Byron Buxton, Junior Caminero, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Oneil Cruz, Matt Olson, Cal Raleigh, Brent Rooker and James Wood.
Olson previously participated in the 2021 event, while the other seven players will be taking swings in the Home Run Derby for the first time.
Olson was a late replacement for Atlanta Braves teammate Ronald Acuña Jr., who will instead just play in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Batting order for Derby
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred set the order in which Home Run Derby participants will bat in as below:
1. James Wood
2. Brent Rooker
3. Junior Caminero
4. Oneil Cruz
5. Byron Buxton
6. Jazz Chisholm Jr.
7. Cal Raleigh
8. Matt Olson
Home Run Derby rules
The eight participants will have three minutes or up to a maximum of 40 pitches to hit as many home runs as possible in the first round.
The hitters with the top-four highest scores will move on to the semifinals. In the event of a first-round tie, the player who hit the longest home run will advance.
There is also a bonus period for each player that lasts until they record three outs. If a player hits a home run of at least 425 feet during the bonus period, it will be extended until a fourth out is recorded.
The Home Run Derby bracket format returns for the semifinals, with seeding determined by the number of home runs each player hit in the first round. Players will have two minutes or 27 pitches in the semifinals and finals to hit as many home runs, with totals from the first round resetting.
Ties in the semifinals or finals are broken by a 60-second swing-off with no additional time added. Any ties beyond that would be decided with three successive swings.
Each batter is entitled to a 45-second timeout in each of the three regulation periods, but they can’t be called during the bonus periods or tiebreakers.
The winners of the semifinals matchups will advance to the final round. The player who hits the most home runs in the finals will then be crowned Home Run Derby champion.
Does Home Run Derby champion win money?
MLB and the Players Association (MLBPA) reached an agreement prior to the 2019 season that increased Home Run Derby pool money from $725,000 to $2.5 million.
The Home Run Derby winner receives $1 million.
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