On the heels of being among the three Los Angeles Dodgers position players voted to start in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, Mookie Betts has now been officially announced as a Home Run Derby participant.
Betts recently tipped his hand by revealing he would take part in the Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park if voted into the All-Star Game. He wound up being the second-leading vote-getter among National League outfielders.
While Betts earned a seventh All-Star selection (fourth start), this marks the first time he’s participating in the Derby. Betts is the first Dodgers Home Run Derby participant since Joc Pederson electrified with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2019.
Betts enters play on Saturday leading the Dodgers this season with 22 home runs that also rank fifth in the NL. He additionally is among the NL leaders with 64 runs scored (third), .523 slugging percentage (seventh) and .883 on-base plus slugging (10th).
Betts has hit nine leadoff home runs this season, which is tied for most in Dodgers franchise history. Pederson set the Dodgers record with nine leadoff home runs hit during the 2019 season.
The Dodgers record originally belonged to Davey Lopes, who hit seven leadoff home runs in 1979.
Home Run Derby participants 2023
In addition to Betts, Guerrero and Seattle Mariners All-Star Julio Rodriguez are confirmed for the Home Run Derby in Seattle. The remaining five participants are due to be announced in the coming days.
The 2023 Home Run Derby is scheduled for Monday, July 10, at 5 p.m. PT. It will be broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com.
The first-round brackets are seeded based on 2023 homer totals through the first half of the season, while ties are broken up by awarding the higher seed to the player who reached his current home run total first.
Dodgers Home Run Derby participants
Betts is becoming the 10th different Dodgers player to take his swings in a Home Run Derby, and the 13th time overall the team has been represented in the event.
He joins Mike Piazza (1993, 1994), Rául Mondesi (1995), Hee-Seop Choi (2005), Matt Kemp (2011, 2012), Yasiel Puig (2014), Joc Pederson (2015, 2019), Corey Seager (2016), Cody Bellinger (2017) and Max Muncy (2018).
The Dodgers have not had a Home Run Derby winner, with Pederson reaching the finals in 2015 before losing to Todd Frazier being their best showing to date.
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