Bobby Witt Jr. gonna hit some dongs!
Baseball’s brightest stars have assembled at Globe Life Park, home of the Texas Rangers for this year’s All-Star festivities. Tonight, sluggers will square off in the annual Home Run Derby. Joining the participants is Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who will get to hit in his native Texas, where his father spent years as a pitcher.
Along with Witt, the American League will feature José Ramírez of the Guardians, Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles, and Adolis García of the hometown Rangers. The National League participants include two-time Derby champ Pete Alonso of the Mets, Marcell Ozuna of the Braves, Alec Bohm of the Phillies, and Teoscar Hernández of the Dodgers.
There will be no brackets in the first round. All eight participants will hit as many home runs as they can in three minutes or 40 pitches, whichever comes first, with the ability to take one timeout. After that initial time period, each player gets three bonus outs, where they continue hitting until three outs are recorded, with an opportunity at a fourth out if they hit a 425-foot blast. Any tie-breakers will be decided by longest home run.
The top four competitors will advance to the next round, seeded by number of home runs, with the same three minutes or 40 pitches time limit and the same bonus outs rules. After that, the top two players advance to the championship, with two minutes or 27 pitches with one timeout, and the same bonus time rules.
Pitching to Bobby Witt Jr. will be his brother-in-law, former big league pitcher James Russell, son of former Texas Rangers closer Jeff Russell.
“Once he threw the idea out there, I started throwing to some kids at our facility just to make sure I still had it,” Russell said. “With our pitching program, I am probably throwing 150-200 balls a day. My arm is in decent shape.”
Witt is the fifth Royals player to participate in the Derby, joining Bo Jackson (1989), Danny Tartabull (1991), Mike Moustakas (2017), and Salvador Perez (2021).
The 2024 Home Run Derby airs tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
