Home Run Derby Field, New Rules Set

Todd Frazier of the host Cincinnati Reds and two-time champion Prince Fielder (2009, 2012) of the Texas Rangers are among the eight participants in the 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders, Major League Baseball announced today. The 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders will be held on Monday, July 13that Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, home of the Reds, and broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET).

The annual showcase also features Chicago Cubs rookie third baseman Kris Bryant; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson, who was MLB's leading vote-getter for the 2015 All-Star Game; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado; Los Angeles Dodgers rookie outfielder Joc Pederson; three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

This year's Derby will introduce a new streamlined format featuring brackets and timed rounds. Brackets in the first round were seeded based on 2015 home run totals through Tuesday's games. The first round matchups will include: No. 1 seed Pujols vs. No. 8 seed Bryant; No. 2 seed Frazier vs. No. 7 seed Fielder; No. 3 seed Donaldson vs. No. 6 seed Rizzo; and No. 4 seed Pederson vs. No. 5 seed Machado.

Fielder will be participating in his sixth career Derby and the fourth in the last five years (also 2007, 2009, 2011-13). He will join Ken Griffey Jr. (8), Mark McGwire (7), Barry Bonds (6) and Sammy Sosa (6) as the only players to participate at least six times. Pujols, who reached the final round in 2003, will compete in the event for the fourth time in his career (also 2003, 2007, 2009). Frazier, a finalist last year at Target Field in Minnesota, and Donaldson are taking part in the Derby for the second consecutive year. Pederson, Machado, Rizzo and Bryant will all take part in the Derby for the first time in their career.

Frazier will become the 18th player from a host team to partake in the Derby, and it marks the third consecutive year for the Derby to feature a hometown competitor, following David Wright at Citi Field in 2013 and Brian Dozier in Minnesota last year.

Rizzo and Bryant will become the first pair of Cubs teammates and the 15th pair of teammates overall to compete in the Derby in the same year. Pederson and Bryant will become just the fifth and sixth rookies to compete in the Derby, joining California's Wally Joyner (1986), Oakland's Jose Canseco (1986) and McGwire (1987), and Mike Piazza of the Dodgers (1993).

In addition to coverage on ESPN and MLB.com, the 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders will be broadcast live on ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN and ESPN Radio in the U.S. as well as ESPN International. For more information, please visit www.allstargame.com.


2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders

Bracket Format:

• Single-elimination tournament in which loser of each bracket is immediately eliminated.
• Seeding was based on 2015 home run totals through July 7th. No tiebreakers were necessary.
• In each bracket, the higher seed will hit second (i.e. Pujols, Pederson, Donaldson, Frazier).

Timing:

• Five minutes per batter, per round. Timers start with release of the first pitch.
• Any home runs hit during the final minute of each turn will stop the timer immediately; timer will not start again until batter hits a ball that is not a home run, or swings and misses at a pitch.

Bonus Time:

• One minute of bonus time awarded for two home runs that each equal or exceed 420 feet.
• Thirty seconds of bonus time awarded for one home run that equals or exceeds 475 feet.
• Both bonuses can be earned by hitting two home runs that equal or exceed 420 feet with one of them reaching 475 feet, resulting in a total bonus of one minute and thirty seconds.
• Distances will be tracked and posted using MLB Advanced Media's Statcast.
• Any bonus time awarded will be added at the end of the initial five-minute round, and the timer will not stop during the bonus time period.

Home Runs in a Given Round

Home Runs in a Given Round                        Distance(s) (ft)                                        Bonus Period
Any number                                                        474 or less                                               0:00                  
1                                                                              475+                                                          0:30
2+                                                                           420-474                                                   1:00
2+                                                                           420-474 & 475+; or both 475+           1:30


Scoring/Advancement:

• Batter with most home runs hit in each matchup will advance to next round.
• Ties in any round will be broken by a 90-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added; if a tie remains after the swing-off, batters will engage in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner.
• Once the second batter hits more than the first batter in any matchup, he will be declared winner and not attempt to hit additional home runs.
• Each batter entitled to one 45-second "time out" per round.