Circuit Competition: MLB Drops the Dial

We're less than a month away from the MLB All-Star Game and the spectacular Home Run Derby that goes along with it.

And speaking of the Home Run Derby, there will be some changes for the 2026 edition. According to Evan Drelich and Johny Flores Jr. of The Athletic, MLB is set to return to a system based on swings rather than a clock—for the first time since 2014.

Although timed rounds have been part of the last eleven Home Run Derbies, batters will now have no time limit. Each participant will have twenty swings in the first round, and those who advance to the final two rounds will have fifteen swings during those at-bats.

That said, if a player hits a long ball on his last swing, he may continue until a swing does not result in a home run. The distance of the longest home run will break ties in the first round. If there is a tie in the second and third rounds, the players involved will take three additional swings.

This format will therefore allow the focus to be on the power of the Major League Baseball players—rather than on a clock—as they'll be able to take as much time as they need to achieve their feats.

Eight batters will compete in the first round, while the second round will feature four batters. Finally, the final round will pit the last two remaining players against each other. The head-to-head competition will begin in the second round to determine the two finalists.

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