MLB Home Run Derby Gameday Thread

[ASFN Admin]

You must be registered for see images

ATLANTA, GA - JULY 14: A view of the T-Mobile Home Run Derby trophy during the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Truist Park on Monday, July 14, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

I’m not sure how much traction this will actually get, since it’s being shown on Netflix this year. We canceled our Netflix subscription in January last year, after they announced another price hike, and really haven’t particularly missed it since then. So we will not be watching the Derby this year. But some of you might, and if so, please feel free to use the thread to discuss it. There are some interesting changes to the format this year, so below find discussion of that, the contenders, and so forth.

How to watch​

• Date: Monday, July 13
• Place: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
• Time: 5 p.m. Arizona time (the pre-derby coverage begins an hour earliers)
• Watch: Netflix. That’s it. No other (legal) option.

Fun fact, the last time there was a HR Derby in Philadelphia was back in 1999. The finalists that year ended up being Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire. Bonds took the title after homering on his three final swings. He did not have to pee into a cup afterward.

The participants​

• Jac Caglianone, Kansas City Royals
• Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
• Willson Contreras, Boston Red Sox
• Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
• Munetaka Murakami, Chicago White Sox
• Ben Rice, New York Yankees
• Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
• Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals

While Schwarber is the MLB home-run leader, with 31, there are a few players here who haven’t exactly stood out in the first half. Eighteen players have hit more than twenty home-runs this year. Half the field – Harper, Contreras, Murakami and something called a Caglianone – are not among them. The last-name is ranked equal 49th in homers so far. Also, if you want to cheer on the NL, but do not wish to do so for the Phillies (who inexplicably have two representatives – where was this benevolence in 2011?), you get Jordan Walker. He is the only other representative from the Senior Circuit.

The format​

Things have been switched up this year. Most notably? Gone is the clock – it’s back to swings. Here’s what happens.

• Round 1. All eight players compete. The four hitting the most home-runs move on to the semi-finals.
• Semi-finals. #1 will face #4, and #2 will face #3, head-to-head.
• Final. The winner of the semi-finals will meet for the title.
• 20 swings in Round 1, 15 swings thereafter.
• If you homer on your final swing, you can keep going until you do not.
• Tiebreakers: Longest homer distance (Round 1); a swing-off of three swings (semis and final)

The odds​

Home Run Derby Champion

• Kyle Schwarber +325
• Junior Caminero +400
• Munetaka Murakami +550
• Ben Rice +600
• Bryce Harper +700
• Jordan Walker +700
• Jac Caglianone +750
• Willson Contreras +1600

Most consecutive HRs by any player to start Round 1

• Over/Under 5 homers

Longest HR streak by any player after 20th swing of Round 1

• Over/Under 4 homers

Total home runs hit

• Over/Under 118.5 homers

Distance of longest HR hit

• Over/Under 484.5 feet

Most HRs by any player in Round 1

• Over/Under 13.5 homers

Round 1 Home Run Totals

• Ben Rice o/u 9.5
• Bryce Harper o/u 8.5
• Jac Caglianone o/u 9.5
• Jordan Walter o/u 9.5
• Junior Caminero o/u 9.5
• Kyle Schwarber o/u 10.5
• Munetaka Murakami o/u 9.5
• Willson Contreras o/u 8.5

Feel free to place your wagers in SnakePit dollars in the comments!

Continue reading...