With the Philadelphia Phillies hosting All-Star Game festivities this year, it’s only fitting that Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are among the players competing in the annual Home Run Derby.
For Harper, it’s the third time he will be taking swings in the event. He first participated in 2013 and later won the Home Run Derby five years later as a member of the Washington Nationals.
Harper chose Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel to throw to him, who has plenty of experience as a pitcher in the Home Run Derby.
“Excited, honored. Always love pitching in those Home Run Derbies and getting a chance to win it for him. That’s our goal,” Ebel said on SportsNet LA when discussing Harper asking him to pitch.
Ebel and Harper have always shared mutual respect for each other, but their friendship only grew when both were part of Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Ebel regularly threw bating practice to Harper, which he believes led to him being asked to pitch to the Phillies star in the Home Run Derby.
“I think so,” Ebel began. “I lived in Vegas at the time he was in high school. I used to go watch him play in high school and there was a place he used to go hit in the offseason, and I used to see him in there.
“In 2015, Cincinnati, I brought my boys to the Home Run Derby when Pujols asked me to throw to him. I got a picture with Brady and Trey with Bryce. And yes, the WBC this year, he hit in group one every day. I was the BP thrower, so I think that had a big part of it. He liked how I threw. Very honored and blessed to be asked.”
Ebel has pitched to the likes of Vladimir Guerrero (2007), Albert Pujols (2015), Joc Pederson (2019) and Teoscar Hernández (2024) in previous Home Run Derby events. He also threw to Schwarber in last year’s All-Star Game swing-off, in which Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked he should be credited with the win for the National League.
2026 Home Run Derby participants
In addition to Harper and Schwarber, this year’s Home Run Derby field includes Jac Caglianone (Kansas City Royals), Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays), Willson Contreras (Boston Red Sox), Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox), Ben Rice (New York Yankees) and Jordan Walker (St. Louis Cardinals).
The 2026 Home Run Derby is reverting to a swing-based format for the first time in 11 years, rather than using a pitch timer.
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