Sluggers will have to pound the ball and beat the clock to win the Home Run Derby this year.
Major League Baseball announced a new format for the pre-All-Star Game slugfest this summer, with a timed rounds being the biggest change.
Eight players will participate, and they will be seeded first through eighth based on their homer totals through July 7.
In each of the three rounds, the higher seed will go last, and the batters will attempt to hit as many home runs as they can in five minutes. After there is one minute left in the round, homers will stop the clock, which won’t restart until the batter hits a ball that is not a home run or until he swings and misses.
During each round, a batter can earn a maximum of 90 bonus seconds can be accrued. One minute of bonus time will be awarded to batters who hit two homers of at least 420 feet. An extra 30 seconds of bonus time will be awarded for a home run that travels at least 475 feet.
Each hitter will be able to call one timeout per round.
If any round ends in a tie, a 90-second “swing-off” with no stoppage time or bonus time will be held. If the batters are still tied, three-swing swing-offs will be held until one wins.
The Home Run Derby will be contested July 13 at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, the site of the All-Star Game the next day.