Overview
- The Athletic reported Wednesday night that Major League Baseball will abandon the clocked Derby and use a swings-based format for the July 13, 2026 event in Philadelphia, though MLB has not yet issued an official announcement.
- Under the reported plan hitters will get 20 swings in round one and 15 swings in the semifinal and final, and a round will continue if a player homers on his final allotted swing until a non-homer occurs.
- The field will remain eight players with the top four advancing, later rounds set as seeded head-to-head matchups, first-round ties decided by farthest homer, and second- and third-round ties settled by a three-swing tiebreaker.
- Netflix is reported to be the Derby broadcaster, marking the first time the event will not air on ESPN since 1993, and the streamer reportedly consulted with MLB and players in shaping the new format.
- The change reverses the timer introduced in 2015 to address pacing and aims to reduce rushed swings and fatigue for competitors while preserving prize incentives and the event’s bracket drama; participants for the 2026 field have not been announced.