The 2011 Home Run Derby is Set for Monday Night

The 26^th edition of the Home Run Derby will be held Monday night at Chase Field, and for the first time

baseball attempted something new, captains.  Major League Baseball elected to make Boston’s David Ortiz the leader of the American League, and Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder on the National League, and gave them free reign to select the remaining field.

One might have thought that with the editions of Captains this year there would be a few new faces, but it seems to remain your run BP sluggers. Fielder decided to select teammate Rickie Weeks to participate in Derby Madness, as well as St. Louis slugger Matt Holliday and the Dodgers Matt Kemp.

On the AL side Ortiz chose a teammate and a two division rivals. Making the cut were Boston’s Adrian Gonzales, New York’s Robinson Cano, and the guy whose hit the most HR’s over the last two seasons Jose Bautista.  Here’s to hoping you don’t mess up what you have going in this years competition fellas.

The current format of the MLB Home Run Derby remains un changed as an 8-player, 3-round event in which each player gets 10 “outs” per round. After the first round, the players with the top four home run totals advance to the second round. If there is a tie, a five-out swing-off determines who advances. Totals from the first round carry over to the second round, and the two players who have the most home runs between the first and second round advance to the final.

Home run totals are reset for the final and both players start with 0. Each player gets 10 outs, and the player who hits the most home runs is crowned the champion. Because of the reset before the final, it's possible for a player who hit the most total home runs in the event to finish in second (as happened in 2008).

Notable Past Performances:

• David Ortiz winning the event last year in Anaheim with 32 total homeruns
• Prince Fielder winning in 2009 in St. Louis with 23 total homeruns
• 2008, Josh Hamilton making Home Run Derby history at Yankee Stadium, hitting a record 28 home runs, including 13 consecutive at one point. Despite the performance Hamilton did not win the even as Minnesota’s Justin Morneau was crowned.  However, Hamilton’s 35 total home runs hit during the event are still the second-most in Home Run Derby history.
• In 2005 when Bobby Abreu hit an eye popping 41 total homeruns in Detroit.