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New Home Run Derby Format Brilliant Step by MLB

By Josh Sippie

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The MLB has completely revolutionized how the Home Run Derby is carried out in their new format this year in Cincinnati. The two main changes include a bracket system, as opposed to highest count moves on, and timed rounds instead of a set amount of outs. Both could potentially have drawbacks, given, but both have immense positives.

The consensus around the web is that the format is bad. Yahoo Sports is one platform that says both major changes are going to fall flat on their face. However, I disagree. Here’s a look at the rules:

Lets start with the most controversial change: the bracket system.

The players will be seeded from 1-8 based on how many home runs the player hit prior to the event. This is a fair and a balanced way to up the competition and make it a much fiercer event. The previous format had players essentially competing against themselves. If you hit a lot of home runs you moved on. It was simple. But it was also lacking in a competitive edge.

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Brackets make everything better. Look at March Madness. All things considered, March Madness is the most competitive tournament in American sports. And what it the main contributing factor to that competitiveness? The bracket.

It may not be fair if two guys slug it out to a 12-10 match while another bracket goes 3-2. But that is part of the game now. That guy that hit three could come back and hit fifteen. Pitting guys against each other, “mano y mano”, hearkens back to the days of the Gladiator. Two men enter, one will win. I can see the hype already.

And then there is the timing system. I cannot begin to tell you how awesome this move is. The way the Home Run Derby used to be, the competition could literally go on forever. Players would take pitches left and right and wait on that perfect pitch before smoking it. That is fun and all, but we want to see wild swings and a ticking clock.

If only Vladimir Guerrero was still active.

Making the rounds five minutes in length (with stoppage time in the final minute for when home runs are in the air), the MLB has added so many perks. First of all, we get to see the fitness of these guys. Hitting home runs is one thing, but hitting them when swinging consistently for five minutes? That is something else. Now there is strategy involved. If you go ham in the first minute and hack and slash your way to six home runs but tire out, did it really pay off?

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Not only that, but seeing guys hit home runs on balls they do not necessarily like will be entertaining. Again, think Vlad Guerrero hitting home runs off the dirt. We may see things like that now.

The MLB has also introduced a time-added perk for players, depending on how far their home runs go. It is a bit hard to explain, so just see the tweet above. It is an interesting little perk that could result in some entertaining scenarios but we will have to see how it plays out first.

The changes that the MLB has made are brilliant and will heighten the entertainment value immensely. Not only that, but seeing needed, wholesale changes like this give me hope that maybe the All-Star Game is not always going to be ruined by overzealous fans.

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