The stars are out in Los Angeles for MLB’s Home Run Derby. The 2022 derby at Dodgers Stadium pits two-time defending champion Pete Alonso against a thunderous group of challengers. Alonso, the star New York Mets first baseman, is going for his third straight Home Run Derby title. He won the event in Cleveland as a rookie in 2019, then again at Denver’s Coors Field in 2021. There was no All-Star Game or Home Run Derby in 2020 due to the pandemic.
So stopping him will take both grit and brawn. The challengers in the eight-slugger field include derby veterans Kyle Schwarber, Ronald Acuña Jr., Juan Soto and former Dodger Corey Seager. Then there are newcomers Julio Rodriguez and Jose Ramirez. Finally, there’s living legend Albert Pujols, who will be competing in his fifth derby, but first since 2015.
When is the 2022 Home Run Derby?
The Home Run Derby is Monday July 18 at 8 p.m. It will be aired live on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+ with a subscription or cable login.
Who’s in the 2022 Home Run Derby bracket?
The bracket for the derby is arranged by the number of homers the sluggers have hit so far this season. So Alonso will go off as the No. 2 seed.
No.1 Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies vs. No. 8 Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
No. 2 Pete Alonso, New York Mets vs. No. 7 Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
No. 3 Corey Seager, Texas Rangers vs. No. 6 Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
No. 4 Juan Soto, Washington Nationals vs. No. 5 José Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
Home Run Derby format
In the first and second rounds each slugger has three minutes — two minutes in the final round — to hit as many home runs as possible with a 30 second overtime period that can be extended to a whole minute if they hit one more than 440 feet. Each player has a 45-second timeout in each round he can call for at any point. Any ties are settled by a one-minute swing-off.
Home Run Derby odds
BetMGM is offering the following odds for the derby:
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Pete Alonso: +175
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Kyle Schwarber: +325
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Juan Soto: +500
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Ronald Acuña Jr.: +700
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Julio Rodriguez: +800
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Corey Seager: +1000
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José Ramirez: +1600
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Albert Pujols: +2200
You can follow live updates here when the derby begins.