Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby reminds me a lot of the NBA’s slam dunk contest. You see the players who can do the most damage and have success in the event once or twice then they retire from the exhibition. Well, that isn’t exactly the case this season with two-time defending champ Pete Alonso returning for a crack at a third straight win. The thing about baseball is that you have a lot more players than the NBA and the home run is the thing in the game.
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You might recall the Nike commercial from years ago when Cy Young winners Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine try to get pumped after watching Mark McGwire launch prodigious BP homers because “chicks dig the long ball.” We’ll all be digging the long ball on Monday with a decent field of distance strokers. We probably won’t see as many homers as we did last year in the thin air of Denver when two of the top four single round records were set. Alonso and Juan Soto, who is scheduled to compete again this year, launched those marks. Also in the field as of now are Ronald Acuna Jr., Albert Pujols, Kyle Schwarber and Julio Rodriguez.
There have been numerous changes to Derby rules since Dave Parker won the inaugural event in 1985, but things have been mostly the same since 2015. Players will compete in a single-elimination bracket system with four minutes to hit as many home runs as possible. The winner proceeds to the next round with the loser grabbing some pine. The amount of prize money was increased a few years ago with Alonso grabbing $1 million of that for his win last year.
The 2022 Home Run Derby takes place on Monday, July 18, 2022 at 8 p.m. ET from Dodger Stadium with television coverage provided by ESPN. Visit BookMaker.eu for updated odds and to place your bet. You can wager on the outright winner, which players will make it to the final round and who will hit the longest homer in any round, among others.
2022 Home Run Derby Field
Even after winning in 2019 Alonso wasn’t the favorite last year coming in with odds of around 55/1. He had the chance to repeat since the 2020 edition was cancelled due to COVID. Well, after claiming the last two expect the Mets slugger to be the odds-on favorite this time. All he’s done since entering the bigs is hit homers leading the league in 2019 and ranking among the leaders this season. He will face some stiff competition from the likes of Schwarber, who leads the NL in homers. Schwarber is back for the first time since reaching the finals of the 2018 event.
Pujols is the fan favorite as he continues his farewell tour around the league. It seemed appropriate that a man with 684 career homers compete and here he is. It will be his fifth appearance in the Derby and the ultimate capper would be to ride off into the sunset with the title. The good thing for Albert is that he doesn’t have to run the bases making him more of a threat since all he has to do is swing for the fences.
Acuna and Soto are bashers with Derby experience so don’t overlook them. Soto was the sixth favorite last year in the 8-player field and seeded No. 8 based on his home run total entering the event. Yet he upset favorite Shohei Ohtani belting 31 dingers in the first round before falling by one to Alonso in the semifinals. If you’re looking to bet on the longest homer keep in mind Soto blasted a record-setting 520-foot shot last year, though it did come in Denver. Acuna is another player ousted by Alonso in his last trip to the Derby. He belted 44 homers in two rounds falling to Alonso in the semis in 2019. He has only eight homers this season, but he’s had limited plate appearances. He’s made the most of those knocks, though, with the highest average distance.
We don’t often see rookies compete in the Derby with Rodriguez only the 14th in history to do so. Alonso and Aaron Judge are the only first-year players to win the Derby outright with Wally Joyner a co-champ back in 1986. Rodriguez has 15 homers with nearly half of those coming since June 21, so he’s been on a roll. And we saw just last year longshot Trey Mancini reach the final before losing by a single homer to Alonso.
It’s hard to argue with Alonso being the favorite. He is after all the two-time defending champ with 23 dingers so far. However, history is working against him since no favorite has even advanced to the final round since 2015. And we will see changes to the field with players added ahead of Monday’s contest and it’s possible we see someone withdraw. But, if Schwarber remains a player I like his chances.
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