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The Home Run Derby is an event held prior to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It is a contest among the top home run hitters in Major League Baseball to determine who can hit the most home runs. The event is currently sponsored by State Farm Insurance.^[1]

History[edit]

2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby

The event has grown significantly from its roots in the 1980s, when it was not televised. Prior to 1991, the Home Run Derby was structured as a two-inning event with each player receiving five outs per inning, allowing for the possibility of ties. It is now one of the most-watched events broadcast on ESPN.^{[citation needed]}

In 2000, a "match play"-style format was instituted for the second round. The player with the most home runs in the first round faced the player with the least among the four qualifying players, as did the players with the second- and third-most totals. The contestant who won each matchup advanced to the finals. This format was discontinued after the 2003 competition.

The field of players selected currently consists of four American League players and four National League players. The first Derby in 1985 featured five from each league, and the 1986 and 1987 events featured three and two players from each league, respectively. In 1996, the field was again expanded to ten players, five from each league (though in 1997, the AL had six contestants to the NL's four).

In 2000, the field reverted to the current four-player-per-league format. The only exception was 2005, when Major League Baseball changed the selection criteria with eight players representing their home countries rather than their respective leagues. The change was believed to be in promotion of the inaugural World Baseball Classic, played in March 2006.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, the selection of four players from each league resumed.

Some of notable performances in the Derby include Bobby Abreu in 2006, who won the Derby with a record 41 homers, including a then-record 24 in the first round. The first-round record was broken in 2008 by Josh Hamilton, who hit 28 home runs. Though Hamilton's performance was notable for the length of his homers^{[citation needed]}, he ultimately lost to Justin Morneau in a brief final round.

In 2011, the format was revised so that team captains selected the individual sides. Leading the American League was David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox, while Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers led the National League. In 2012, the New York Yankees' Robinson Canó captained the AL side, while Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers captained the NL participants. In 2013, David Wright of the host New York Mets was chosen to captain the National League squad while Robinson Cano of the Yankees was chosen for the American League.

The event has instigated some controversy over whether players' fatigue after the Derby has led to diminished second half performances with fewer home runs. Possible examples include Abreu in 2005 and Wright in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

The 2013 Home Run Derby event is scheduled for July 15 at Citi Field in Flushing, Queens, New York. The 2014 competition is slated for at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the 2015 Derby is planned for Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Overview[edit]

Rules[edit]

Eight players are selected for the Home Run Derby and compete in a traditional playoff system, in which the players with the most home runs advance to the next round. Each player gets ten "outs" per round, although before 2000 they would only get 5 outs in the final round. In this case, an out is defined as any swing that is not a home run. Should a tie exist between players at the end of any round, there will be a five swing swing-off to determine who will advance, followed by 3 extra swings if needed (as of 2012; if a tie still remains, sudden-death swings continue until one player homers). Until 2006, the home run count was reset after each round. However, a rule change was made for the 2006 Home Run Derby which causes the home run count for the four players advancing to the second round to carry over. The home run count for the final round is still reset to zero.

Each batter selects his own pitcher, who is presumably friendly to the hitter's efforts.

Gold Balls[edit]

Since 2005, a gold ball has been used once a player reaches nine outs. If a batter hit a home run using the golden ball, Century 21 Real Estate and Major League Baseball would donate $21,000 (a reference to the "21" in "Century 21") per home run to charity (MLB donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Century 21 donated to Easter Seals). In both 2005 and 2006, $294,000 was raised for the charities, equaling fourteen golden ball home runs per year. State Farm continued this in 2007 as they designated $17,000 per home run (one dollar for each of State Farm's agencies), to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. In the 2007 event, fifteen golden balls were hit for a donation of $255,000, and ten ($170,000) were hit in the 2008 event. For 2009, State Farm added $5,000 for all non-Gold Ball homers, and $517,000 was collected. For 2010, the non-Gold Ball homer was reduced to $3,000 per home run and a total of $453,000 was collected.

Television and radio coverage[edit]

The derby was first nationally televised by ESPN in 1993 on a same-day delayed basis,^[2] with the first live telecast in 1998. Although two hours were initially devoted to the telecast, it hasn't been uncommon for the program to run over schedule. The 2006 through 2008 events, for example, lasted nearly three hours. Starting in 2009, three hours were devoted to the event.

The 2008 Derby was the year's most highly rated basic cable program.^[3]

Because of the game's TV popularity, invited players have felt pressure to participate. Notably, Ken Griffey, Jr. initially quietly declined to take part in 1998, partly due to ESPN scheduling the Mariners in their late Sunday game the night before. After a discussion with ESPN's Joe Morgan and another with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Griffey changed his mind, and then won the Derby at Coors Field.^[4]

ESPN Radio also carries the event annually.^[5]

Winners[edit]

Prince Fielder accepting his second trophy in 2012

Key

^	Indicates multiple winners in the same year
	Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Year	Winner	Team	League
1985	Parker, DaveDave Parker	Cincinnati Reds	NL
1986^	Joyner, WallyWally Joyner	California Angels	AL
1986^	Strawberry, DarrylDarryl Strawberry	New York Mets	NL
1987	Dawson, AndreAndre Dawson	Chicago Cubs	NL
1988	Canceled
1989	Davis, EricEric Davis	Cincinnati Reds	NL
1990	Sandberg, RyneRyne Sandberg	Chicago Cubs	NL
1991	Ripken, Jr., CalCal Ripken, Jr.	Baltimore Orioles	AL
1992	McGwire, MarkMark McGwire	Oakland Athletics	AL
1993	González, JuanJuan González	Texas Rangers	AL
1994	Griffey, Jr., KenKen Griffey, Jr. (1)	Seattle Mariners	AL
1995	Thomas, FrankFrank Thomas	Chicago White Sox	AL
1996	Bonds, BarryBarry Bonds	San Francisco Giants	NL
1997	Martinez, TinoTino Martinez	New York Yankees	AL
1998	Griffey, Jr., KenKen Griffey, Jr. (2)	Seattle Mariners	AL
1999	Griffey, Jr., KenKen Griffey, Jr. (3)	Seattle Mariners	AL
2000	Sosa, SammySammy Sosa	Chicago Cubs	NL
2001	Gonzalez, LuisLuis Gonzalez	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL
2002	Giambi, JasonJason Giambi	New York Yankees	AL
2003	Anderson, GarretGarret Anderson	Anaheim Angels	AL
2004	Tejada, MiguelMiguel Tejada	Baltimore Orioles	AL
2005	Abreu, BobbyBobby Abreu	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
2006	Howard, RyanRyan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
2007	Guerrero, VladimirVladimir Guerrero	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	AL
2008	Morneau, JustinJustin Morneau	Minnesota Twins	AL
2009	Fielder, PrincePrince Fielder (1)	Milwaukee Brewers	NL
2010	Ortiz, DavidDavid Ortiz	Boston Red Sox	AL
2011	Canó, RobinsonRobinson Canó	New York Yankees	AL
2012	Fielder, PrincePrince Fielder (2)	Detroit Tigers	AL

Records[edit]

Most single derby home runs[edit]

Note: these numbers exclude swingoffs.

1. Bobby Abreu (2005) – 41
2. Josh Hamilton (2008) – 35
3. David Ortiz (2010), Robinson Canó (2011) – 32
4. Adrian Gonzalez (2011) – 31
5. Prince Fielder (2012) – 28
6. Miguel Tejada (2004) – 27
7. Sammy Sosa (2000), Albert Pujols (2003), Hanley Ramírez (2010) – 26
8. Jason Giambi (2002) – 24
9. Ryan Howard (2006), Jason Giambi (2003), Prince Fielder (2009) – 23
10. David Wright (2006), Garret Anderson (2003), Justin Morneau (2008) – 22

Most all-time home runs[edit]

Note: these numbers exclude swingoffs.

1. David Ortiz – 77
2. Ken Griffey, Jr. – 70
3. Jason Giambi – 69
4. Sammy Sosa – 65
5. Prince Fielder – 63
6. Mark McGwire – 56
7. Albert Pujols – 50
8. Barry Bonds – 47
9. Bobby Abreu – 41

Most all-time wins[edit]

1. Ken Griffey, Jr. – 3 (The only player to win back-to-back titles (1998–1999))
2. Prince Fielder – 2 (Became first player to win the derby as a National League and American League participant.) (2009,2012)

Complete scoreboard[edit]

The 1980s[edit]

1985[edit]

1986[edit]

1987[edit]

1988[edit]

Home Run Derby canceled due to rain.

1989[edit]

The 1990s[edit]

1990[edit]

1991[edit]

1992[edit]

1993[edit]

* Lost in playoff to Gonzalez

1994[edit]

1995[edit]

* Beat Belle in finals

1996[edit]

1997[edit]

* Beat Walker in finals

1998[edit]

1999[edit]

* Lost to Burnitz in round 2

The 2000s[edit]

2000[edit]

2001[edit]

2002[edit]

* Giambi defeated Konerko in a swing off

2003[edit]

2004[edit]

2005[edit]

2006[edit]

2007[edit]

Notes:
^a Recorded only seven of ten outs before hitting winning home run.
Italicized numbers denote swing-offs.

2008[edit]

Notes:
^a New single round record.
^b Voluntarily ended round with four outs.

2009[edit]

Notes:
Italicized numbers denote swing-offs.

The 2010s[edit]

2010[edit]

2011[edit]

Notes:
Italicized numbers denote swing-offs.

2012[edit]

Notes:
Italicized numbers denote swing-offs.

References[edit]

1. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120702&content_id=34329004&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb
2. ^ http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419243-home-run-derby-2010-most-memorable-derby-moments#/articles/419243-home-run-derby-2010-most-memorable-derby-moments/page/4
3. ^ Multichannel.com
4. ^ Seattle Post-Intelligencer
5. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110711&content_id=21738578

External links[edit]

• MLB.com: 2006 Home Run Derby
• MLB.com: 2007 Home Run Derby
• MLB.com: 2008 Home Run Derby
• Baseball-Almanac.com: Home Run Derby Results and Analysis
• State Farm Insurance becomes title sponsor of MLB Home Run Derby