The Home Run Derby is altering its format.
This year’s event, which takes place on July 15 at Arlington, Texas, limits the number of pitches each hitter can face in each round and changes the setup of its opening round.
In the first round and the semifinals, each hitter will get either three minutes or 40 pitches, depending on which of those benchmarks gets reached first. In the final round, a hitter will get two minutes or 27 pitches. That doesn’t include the bonus periods that hitters will get in each round.
Under the previous format, hitters still faced a time limit but there wasn’t any restriction on the number of pitches they could face.