With hitters on the clock, ESPN's cameras and viewers of the Home Run Derby had a hard time following the event Jul 10, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) before the All-Star Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

At its core, the Home Run Derby is about not only the players launching long home runs, but also giving everyone a chance to enjoy the homers.

The current format allows for long homers. But even though the format gives us more long home runs than what we previously had, viewers have essentially no chance to enjoy those long balls.

Before 2015, Derby participants were allotted 10 outs. It had its flaws. The main flaw was that an out was any swing that didn’t produce a home run. So, hitters were incredibly selective. It often looked like they were up there more to work to count than actually hit home runs. But it also led to awesome moments, like Josh Hamilton at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008 or Mark McGwire at Fenway Park in 1999.

Not only did the batters hit long, majestic homers, but the viewers got to really enjoy them.

Now, hitters are on the clock.

Every hitter gets three minutes followed by 30 bonus seconds (thereby defeating the purpose of a bonus). Then, if two or more homers in the original three minutes went at least 440 feet, a hitter is given 30 more seconds.

That leads to the pitchers rapidly throwing the pitches and hitters swinging at them with similar quickness. So while the previous format led to long rounds, with hitters taking too many pitches. This brings the opposite problem. ESPN’s coverage of the event is not flawless, by any means. But with rapid-fire pitches and swings, no network could reasonably be expected to do any better.

It’s hard to keep up. Most non-outs are not shown. And even the home runs were often not tracked until they were deep into the outfield.

https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1678570591979470848

To put it mildly, it’s a less-than-ideal viewing experience.

And a lot of fans watching on television were ready to return to the old 10-out format.

https://twitter.com/ChalkboardHQ/status/1678565909202444290

https://twitter.com/AronYohannes/status/1678562296711323649

The difference in the formats is simple.

The pre-2015 format could drag and become boring, but the fantastic moments, like McGwire and Hamilton could truly be enjoyed. The current format is too fast to be boring, but also too frenetic to be truly enjoyed.

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