2024 MLB Home Run Derby rules: How the new format will work, with bonus rounds

Happy Home Run Derby to all those who celebrate!

We’ve got some big names slugging baseballs at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Monday in the 2024 edition (although Shohei Ohtani isn’t in it) that will be on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET. But there are changes this year to the rules and format, and if you’re watching, you might notice some changes.

So with that in mind, we wanted to walk you through those changes and what the format is this year. Here’s what’s not changing: hitting lots of home runs will absolutely win you a title.

Let’s run through the rules:

The rules and format for the first round

No longer will there be a bracket like we had in years past. Instead, every hitter will smash dingers, and the best four dingers will advance. Any ties will be broken by longest homer by distance.

The timing is key: you get three minutes to hit, but ALSO — if you get 40 pitches, the round ends.

How bonus rounds will work

At the end of that 40 pitches or three minutes — whichever comes first — you get three bonus outs that can be turned into four if you hit a dinger 425 feet or more.

The format and rules for the semifinals and finals

Remember that thing about no bracket? It was true until now. The four players are now seeded Nos. 1 through 4 based on their home run totals and will face off, head-to-head, with the same rules with three minutes or 40 pitches, plus the bonus rounds.

Then? It’s two minutes or 27 pitches, plus bonus rounds in the finals.

There you have it!