The annual spectacle that is the Home Run Derby will have a different look next month at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Major League Baseball announced Sunday that the 2015 Home Run Derby will be a single-elimination tournament comprised of eight participants, wherein the loser of each round is immediately eliminated. For the first time ever, though, participants will face a time limit rather than a set number of outs.
Each participant will have five minutes to hit more home runs than his opponent, though bonus time (with a maximum of a minute and a half) can be earned by hitting particularly lengthy home runs. The player with more home runs at the end of each round will advance, with ties to be determined with a 90-second swing-off or, failing that, successive three-swing swing-offs until a winner is crowned. Each batter is also entitled to a 45-second timeout per round.
| Home Runs in a Given Round | Distance(s) (ft) | Bonus Period |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 | 474 or less | 0:00 |
| 1 | 475+ | 0:30 |
| 2+ | 420-474 | 1:00 |
| 2+ | 420-474; or both 475+ | 1:30 |
Though it's not yet known who will participate in next month's derby, seeding will be determined by 2015 homer totals as of July 7, with the higher seed to hit second. Yoenis Cespedes of the Detroit Tigers, who's blasted 10 home runs in 74 games this season, has won each of the last two Home Run Derby competitions.