We have a new Home Run Derby champion as Teoscar Hernández took home the crown for the first time Monday night. The Dodgers star was the last slugger standing out of the eight-hitter field, outlasting Royals cornerstone Bobby Witt Jr. in the finals at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on the eve of the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.
Because of the new format, no Home Run Derby records were set, though Hernández did hit an impressive 49 homers en route to winning the event. Hernández, the seventh Dominican-born player to win the Home Run Derby, edged out Alec Bohm in the semifinals while Witt eliminated José Ramírez to reach the finals.
Here's a look at how the Home Run Derby bracket shook out:
2024 Home Run Derby bracket, results
First Round
- Alec Bohm: 21
- José Ramírez: 21
- Bobby Witt Jr.: 20
- Teoscar Hernández: 19
- Adolis García: 18 (eliminated)
- Marcell Ozuna: 16 (eliminated)
- Pete Alonso: 12 (eliminated)
- Gunnar Henderson: 11 (eliminated)
Under the new format, players had three minutes or 40 pitches to swing away in the first round, plus they were given three bonus outs in which they could hit as many homers as possible before making three outs. Players could earn a fourth bonus out with a 425-foot homer in bonus time. The top four home run totals advanced to the semifinals.
Semifinals
- No. 4 Teoscar Hernández (16) over No. 1 Alec Bohm (15) in a swing-off
- No. 3 Bobby Witt Jr. (17) over No. 2 José Ramírez (12)
The four remaining players were seeding 1-4 based on their first-round home run totals -- the longest first-round homer was used as the tiebreaker, so Bohm (445 feet) got the No. 1 seed over Ramírez (419 feet) -- then met head-to-head in a 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 format. The time limit, pitch limit, and bonus out rules were all the same as the first round.
Finals
- Teoscar Hernández (14) over Bobby Witt Jr. (13)
The final two went head-to-head for the crown. In the finals, Hernández and Witt were given only two minutes and 27 pitches to hit as many homers as possible. The same bonus outs rules as the first round and semifinals applied.
And here now are six takeaways from the event.
1. Hernández is the first Dodger to win the Derby
Hernández needed overtime to reach the Home Run Derby. He and Bohm finished the semifinals tied with 14 homers apiece, sending them to a three-swing swing-off. Hernández advanced with a 2-1 win in the swing-off tiebreaker.
The swing-off was the first since Albert Pujols eliminated Kyle Schwarber in the 2022 first round.
Hernández is the first Dodgers player to win the Home Run Derby, and he was only the second Dodger to reach the finals. Joc Pederson lost to Todd Frazier in Cincinnati in the 2015 Home Run Derby. That was one of the most memorable Home Run Derby finishers ever.
2. Witt went where no Royal has gone before
For the first time ever, a Kansas City Royal reached the Home Run Derby finals. In fact, Witt is the first Royals player to ever make it out of the first round of the Derby. He came within a few feet of tying Hernández in the finals, but his last swing fell just short. Look how close this was:
So close! Witt grew up about a half hour away from Globe Life Field and said he expects to have about 100 friends and family in the stands for the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game. He ultimately fell short, but Witt put on a heck of a show as the final hitter.
3. Alonso exited early
Alonso, seeking his record-tying third Home Run Derby title, was eliminated in the first round Monday night. Not only that, but his 12 home runs were the second fewest of any player. The ESPN cameras caught Bohm playfully saying, "Just what everybody thought" as Alonso wrapped up his round. I'm not sure any player in the game enjoys the Home Run Derby as much as Alonso. I'm guessing we'll see him going for his third title again next year. For now, Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. remains the only three-time Home Run Derby champ.
4. Garcia got knocked out early too
Adolis García, last year's ALCS MVP and star of the hometown Rangers, was also an early exit like Alonso. He was officially eliminated when Ramírez, the third-to-last hitter in the first round, surpassed his total of 18 homers. The last hometown player to win the Home Run Derby was Bryce Harper in 2018, when he was still with the Nationals.
5. Fans in right field got left out in the cold
Not literally, as it was over 100 degrees in Arlington at first pitch, but there were six right-handed hitters in the Home Run Derby, so the vast majority of the homers went out to left field. Here is the Statcast spray chart of all 225 homers:
Last year, there were seven righties in the Home Run Derby. The year before there was a nice balance with four righties. Should MLB make an effort to even out the playing field? Eh, I don't think it's a huge deal. It's hard enough to get star players to participate in the Home Run Derby. I have to think buying a right field seat to the Derby and then watching most of the homers go to the other side of the ballpark would be a bit of a letdown though.
6. The new format cut down on homers
The new Home Run Derby format has a 40-pitch limit in the first round and semifinals, and a 27-pitch limit in the finals. In a seemingly direct correlation, there were significantly fewer home runs hit this year. All told, the eight players combined for 225 dingers this year. Last year they combined for 341 homers. In 2022, it was 291 homers. No player hit more than 21 homers in a round this year. Last year there were 11 individual rounds with at least 21 homers. The new format took away homers. It's a Home Run Derby! What fun is that?
Also, no head-to-head matchups in the first round made keeping score a tiny little bit confusing, and there's no need for that. The goal was to incentivize everyone to hit as many home runs as possible, though the first round lacked juice. I applaud MLB for being open to new things and trying to improve the Home Run Derby. Not sure the new format is a keeper though. Head-to-head matchups are where it's at. Bring those back in the first round, and perhaps up the pitch limit to 50 or so?