MLB Overhauls Home Run Derby Format for 2026, Scrapping the Clock

The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby dropped its signature timed rounds this year, replacing the clock with a set number of swings per contestant, according to The Athletic's live coverage from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

The rule change reshapes one of the most-watched events on the baseball calendar. In prior editions, hitters raced against a countdown; the 2026 version instead caps each round at a fixed swing count, shifting the emphasis from pace to efficiency. The eight-player bracket streamed on Netflix.

How the early rounds played out

Junior Caminero set the tone as one of the standout performers, reaching 10 home runs with three swings still in hand and launching one an estimated 479 feet to left-center, per The Athletic's blog. The distance placed him among the biggest hits of the night in the tally reporters were keeping in real time.

Not everyone kept pace. New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice finished with seven homers and was eliminated, according to the same coverage. Rice went homerless through his first four swings before finding a rhythm, but never fully settled in, connecting on a 386-foot shot for his first before getting jammed on his final cut.

Willson Contreras led at the halfway mark of the opening round, The Athletic reported, including a 490-footer that cleared the upper-deck fans in left field. Reporter Jayson Stark noted he had not previously seen a ball travel that far at the venue. Jac Caglianone also reached the third deck in right field, a level Stark said only Ryan Howard had cleared before.

Does the new format work

The swing-based structure drew mixed early reactions from reporters on the ground. The Athletic's Levi Weaver wrote that the first round alone ran roughly an hour by its midpoint, and floated trimming the eight-man field to six or four to tighten the event.

The critique points to a familiar tension: removing the clock can reward measured, high-quality contact, but it also risks extending an event already competing for viewer attention against a packed sports schedule. Whether the format survives past this edition will depend on how MLB weighs pacing against the drama of longer at-bats.

Around the event

Contreras, a Venezuela native, used a mid-round interview to address the earthquakes that have hit his home country, telling Netflix his "heart is with them" and that he continues trying to help. Fellow contestant Willson Contreras and others treated the exhibition as both competition and showcase, with Cody Bellinger drawing attention for his measured on-camera demeanor.

The broader All-Star Week storyline also touched on MLB's growing pipeline of talent from Asia. Munetaka Murakami joined the Chicago White Sox this offseason after leaving the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, marking his first MLB season and continuing the flow of Nippon Professional Baseball stars into the majors, according to The Athletic.

With Caminero rolling and the reworked format under scrutiny, the 2026 Derby serves as a live test of whether MLB's change makes the contest better or simply longer.