Major League Baseball will eliminate the timer from the T-Mobile Home Run Derby this year and return to a swing-based system. The change takes effect for the event scheduled at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 13.
The format will feature eight players across three rounds. Participants receive 20 swings in the first round and 15 swings each in the semifinals and finals. Every swing counts toward the total, though a home run on the final swing of a round allows the player to continue until missing.
Round 1 will place all eight hitters in one pool, with the top four advancing based on home run totals. Ties in that round will be broken by longest home run distance. The advancing players will be seeded and compete head-to-head in the semifinals, with three-swing swing-offs resolving any ties there and in the final.
The new rules restore elements of the pre-2015 format that relied on outs rather than a clock. The 2026 Derby will also mark the first time the event streams live on Netflix.
