The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby is turning back the clock and saying goodbye to it simultaneously, according to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Johnny Flores Jr., who reported Wednesday night that the midsummer slugging competition is set to return to a swing-based system for the first time since 2014.
While timed rounds have been part of the past 11 iterations of the derby, hitters’ bouts will reportedly once again have no time limit.
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Netflix will broadcast the twist in Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park on July 13, as the streaming service will take a hack at showcasing a timeless event that had been tethered to ESPN for decades.
Here’s the breakdown, per The Athletic: Eight hitters will make up the first round, the second round will consist of four hitters and the final round will pit the last two remaining against one another. Head-to-head competition begins in the second round, setting up a four-player bracket that determines the two-way final. The biggest difference is that each participant will have 20 swings at their disposal in the first round. For those who are still raking in the final two rounds, they’ll have 15 swings in both of those turns at the plate.
That said, if a player goes yard on their final swing, they reportedly will be allowed to keep going until a swing doesn’t result in a home run. Farthest home-run distance will break first-round ties, according to The Athletic, which also reported that ties in the second and third rounds will each be decided by the players in question taking three extra swings.
Viewing this format will no longer require fans to watch both a clock and the power-charged hitters swinging. Batters will be allowed to take as much time as they need, just as they did when the derby capped their rounds with a certain number of “outs,” or swings that didn’t produce a home run.
That also could help the participants, who won’t be in a rush to take as many whacks as possible and therefore could preserve more energy for later rounds.
