liveUpdated 2m agoA talented field of eight sluggers will battle it out for the Home Run Derby champion crown.The Athletic Live TeamJuly 13, 2026 at 3:20 PM EDTThe Rays' Junior Caminero is set to compete in the Home Run Derby for the second straight year. Getty ImagesMLB Home Run Derby — LatestGet your popcorn ready. We've made it to the Home Run Derby portion of MLB All-Star Week!This year's Home Run Derby will pit eight sluggers against each other in the ultimate contest of power at the plate. One of the most high-octane events on the baseball calendar, the Home Run Derby is changing its format this year and is removing the timed element of rounds in favor of giving contestants a set number of swings per round.Start time: 8 p.m. ETWatch: NetflixGet involved in the chat in the Discuss tab or email live@theathletic.comHometown sluggers headline Home Run Derby field ReutersThe first player to enter this year’s Home Run Derby was last year’s runner up, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero. The last player to enter was Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami, a Japanese standout who was named an All-Star replacement reserve in his rookie season.The local favorites will surely be Philadelphia Phillies teammates Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, who will be competing in their home ballpark.Here’s the full field, along with each player’s 2026 home run total. Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber — 32 home runs Yankees 1B Ben Rice — 29 home runs Rays 3B Junior Caminero — 28 home runs Cardinals OF Jordan Walker — 22 home runs Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras — 20 home runs Phillies 1B Bryce Harper — 20 home runs Royals OF Jac Caglianone — 15 home runsWhy did MLB change the Home Run Derby format? ReutersFor basically three decades, the MLB Home Run Derby was based on outs. Contestants tried to hit as many home runs as possible before making a set number of outs (an out being any swing that didn’t result in a homer). Then, 2015, the lead changed to clock-based format so that players hit as many home run as possible within a set number of minutes. Now, the league has changed the Derby format again, to a setup based on the number of swings.Why?The league’s executive vice president of baseball operations, Morgan Sword, said the changes came after conversations with fans, players and former players who had two consistent — but seemingly contradictory — bits of criticism: The Home Run Derby was too fast, but it also took too long.“The other thing we were focused on was making the event a little bit easier for players to compete in,” Sword said.The hope is that this format will allow viewers to really admire long home runs, while simplifying the scoring and limiting player fatigue. It will almost certainly lead to fewer home runs overall, but the viewing and hitting experience might be better.Here’s our full story on this year’s Home Run Derby changes.Explaining the new Home Run Derby format ReutersFor three decades, the Home Run Derby was based on outs. Details occasionally varied a bit, but players tried to hit as many home runs as possible before making a certain number of outs (an out being any swing that didn’t result in a home run). In 2015, the format changed to clock-based. Players had to hit as many home runs as possible within a time limit, a format that initially added a spark.This year, Major League Baseball has shifted to a swing-based format. There are no bonus rounds and no timeouts. Here are the basics.First RoundEight hitters.20 swings apiece.Four hitters with the most home runs advance.Longest single home run is the tiebreaker.Second RoundFour hitters.Two head-to-head matchups seeded based on number of first-round homers15 swings apiece.Again, if a player hits a home run on his last swing, he can continue to swing until he fails to hit a homer.If there’s a tie, a three-swing swing-off will be the tiebreaker.Final RoundTwo hitters head-to-head.15 swings.Format is the same as the second round.Winner is named Home Run Derby champion.How to watch the MLB Home Run Derby ReutersAmong the changes to this year’s Home Run Derby is the broadcast platform. After more than 30 years on ESPN, this year’s Derby is going to be carried live by Netflix. So, what does the streaming giant have up its sleeve?Well, the most Netflix-ish thing about tonight’s broadcast will be the player introductions, which are going to include actors from the upcoming Netflix comedy The Hawk — Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson and Jimmy Tatro.Otherwise, the basics should look fairly familiar, but Netflix has some heavy hitters among its Derby analysts. Anthony Rizzo and Hunter Pence will be on set, CC Sabathia is going to be a sort of roving reporters, and there will be in-game analysis from two guys who know a thing or two about hitting home runs: Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols.What time does the Home Run Derby start? ReutersThe MLB Home Run Derby is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET, with coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET.Welcome to our Home Run Derby coverage! ReutersWe thought for sure this would be the year our own Ken Rosenthal was selected to participate in the Home Run Derby. But, alas, snubbed again!We’ve decided to watch anyway.Welcome to The Athletic’s Home Run Derby live blog, where we’ll have news and analysis — and probably a few completely random thoughts — throughout the night from our team of reporters on the scene in Philadelphia (and a few of us watching from our couches at home).There’s a new format this year and three of the regular season’s top four home run leaders are participating. We’ll be here throughout to see if Bryce Harper can win his second Derby title or if Munetaka Murakami can add an exclamation point to his already impressive rookie season so stay tuned for the latest news, analysis, play-by-play, reaction and more.