By traditional standards, MLB’s Home Run Derby X is anything but ordinary.
What’s planned for the Aug. 23 evening at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Major League Baseball is unique. With ongoing efforts to attract and retain a younger fan base of Generation Z (ages 12–27), the game’s leaders at their corporate headquarters in New York City are spicing up one of their most successful events.
The many moving parts of the Home Run Derby X intrigued former Washington Nationals 2019 World Series Champion Ryan Zimmerman enough for him to sign up. To best prepare for his individual performance in Albuquerque, the former two-time All-Star sought advice from a former teammate and has been swinging a bat again, something he hadn’t done in a while before committing to the Aug. 23 event.
“I think it [Home Run Derby X] is a cool concept. This should help grow the game, and that is a huge priority for MLB,” Zimmerman told The Epoch Times. “I don’t hit much anymore, so I talked with Ian [former Nationals’ teammate Ian Desmond, who is also scheduled to participate in Albuquerque]. He told me to swing as hard as I can, for as long as I can.”
At last month’s MLB All-Star Game site in Arlington, Texas, the annual Home Run Derby drew its lowest TV audience since 2014. ESPN drew just under 5 million viewers. Three years ago, MLB began tweaking the time-tested home run slugfest. Sticking with the long ball concept, MLB officials in selected markets added players and rules that could lead to the Home Run Derby X as the next and improved version of what fans could expect at All-Star Weekends in years to come.
The rules for Home Run Derby X are meant to keep the action on the field continuous, both in the batter’s box and on the field. The format of 3-on-3 co-ed competition (yes, co-ed) emphasizes power-hitting and defensive hustling.
Given the rule changes, the MLB legends’ signed up for the Aug. 23 event, and a tie-in with local athletes, MLB is banking that Home Run Derby X will be a winner with fans at the home ballpark of the Colorado Rockies Triple-A affiliate.
Four teams are scheduled to participate in the second of four Home Run Derby X events this season. Each single game should take about 30 minutes to complete. The format will have two semi-finals and then the final round. Each player gets one at-bat, timed at 2 1/2 minutes per game. Aside from earning points for home runs, each team member can be awarded points for catches made on the field.
Reports on the resounding success of the Home Run Derby X last summer in Fredericksburg, Virginia, along with the opportunity to put on a uniform again—something Zimmerman hasn’t done much since retiring after the 2021 MLB season—combine for the former 17-year Nationals’ veteran being ready to have a “blast” on Aug. 23.
The event will include earning bonus points if his teammates hit home runs through a designated target in center field. Also, each at-bat, the batter can call for a hot streak of 5 swings when everything counts double. Plus, in the final minute of an at-bat, batters can “tag in” a teammate to finish their swings.
The team with the most points is the winner of the round.
If there is any chance of making MLB “cool” in Albuquerque and in the coming weeks in Nashville and Durham, both the League and participants are all in.
Zimmerman’s “Team Lobos” on Friday will have him paired with Andrea Howard of University of New Mexico softball fame and Gene Trujillo, a sophomore first baseman at UNM at Albuquerque.
Although Zimmerman hasn’t stayed involved with the Nationals much since playing his last game for Washington in October 2021, he says he wants to get back into representing the game.
“I’m excited to play in the Derby. I miss traveling to the different cities and meeting new people. Right now, my plans are to arrive with my wife, Heather, on Thursday. There’s a team dinner planned, and that’s when I‘ll meet everyone. The competition promises to be pretty good. For me, the trip is going to be quick. Fly on Thursday and return on Saturday. We’ll enjoy a couple days of peace and quiet,” he said.
Pointing to creating a home run derby concept that is hoped to appeal to a younger audience (the average age of an MLB.TV viewer is 44), Zimmerman believes MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s office, as well as individual teams’ management, are listening more now than in the past to players’ past and present opinions. According to Zimmerman, MLB and its alumni want more kids playing baseball. The Home Run Derby X is a vehicle that is hoped to contribute to reaching that goal.
Along with Zimmerman and Desmond participating in the Aug. 23 Derby, former MLB stars Manny Ramirez and Jonny Gomes round out the four-team leaders.
