This year the MLB Home Run Derby is being held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as a part of the All Star festivities. And the iconic Philly Phanatic is on hand to keep the packed house of fans laughing.

This year MLB has introduced a new format.  The old clock is gone.  In round one each of the eight batters will get 20 hits.  In round two the top four batters will face off against each other, Round three is the top two batters to battle it out for the big prize.  There are only 15 hits for rounds two and three.

If a batter’s last ball is a home run, then the bat continues.  A batters round cannot end on a home run.

This year’s lineup features an international group with players from Venezuela and Japan.

The batters are:
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber
Kansas City Royals Jac Caglianone
St Louis Cardinals Jordan Walker
Boston Red Sox Wilson Contreras
Chicago White Sox Munetaka Murakami
Tampa Bay Rays Junior Caminero
New York Yankees Ben Rice
Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper

Leading off the competition is Wilson Contreras who has the Red Sox bench coach as his pitcher.  After starting off with a shot to the upper deck, Contreras had a total of 13 home runs plus three homers that were foul.  At least eight of the homers went at least 450 feet.

The next batter is Jordan Walker who had Cardinals bullpen catcher Teran pitching to him. Walker hit 13 home runs including one into the shrubs in centerfield.

Jac Caglianone has his dad pitching to him.  After a slow start, Jac hit eight home runs.

Munetaka Murakami is just the second Japanese player to participate in the Derby.  This is his first visit to Citizens Bank Park.  He hit nine home runs.

Ben Rice has his dad pitching to him who pitched in college.  Rice hit seven home runs.

Junior Caminero finished second behind Cal Raleigh at last year’s Derby.  He hit 12 home runs plus one that went foul.

The first batter from the Phillies contention is Kyle Schwarber who helped the National League win the All Star game in Atlanta last year with a three pitch swing off.  After a slow start, Schwarber hit 10 home runs.

Closing out round one is Phillies star Bryce Harper.  Harper is the only batter in the Derby who has won a previous Home Run Derby. He hit eight home runs.

Round one home run totals:
Wilson Contreras – 13
Jordan Walker – 13
Junior Caminero – 12
Kyle Schwarber – 10
Munetaka Murakami – 9
Jac Caglianone – 8
Bryce Harper – 8
Ben Rice – 7

A total of 80 homers were hit in round one.

In round two Wilson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber will face off and Junior Caminero and Jordan Walker will face off.

Round two the batters get just 15 swings.  If there is a tie, the winner is determined by a swing off.

First up is last year’s runner up Junior Caminero who hit just five home runs – one third of his swings.

Facing off against Caminero is Jordan Walker who hit six home runs with seven swings left.  He will be moving on to the finals.

In the second semi-finals matchup, Kyle Schwarber bats first and hits nine home runs – seven in a row.

Wilson Contreras is the final batter in the semi-final rounds and hits eight home runs. 

Round two results:
Jordan Walker – 6
Junior Caminero – 5

Kyle Schwarber – 9
Wilson Contreras – 8

The final round will be Jordan Walker and Kyle Schwarber.  Each batter gets 15 swings.  The batter with the most takes home the prize.

First up is Kyle Schwarber who hit eleven home runs.  He is the first batter of the night to hit a homer in his final at bat to earn another swing.

Jordan Walker is the final batter of the night and becomes the second batter to hit one of the magenta balls…and hits three of them to tie with Kyle Schwarber.  And his fourth magenta ball goes long to give Walker 12 home runs to win the Derby!

Final round totals:
Kyle Schwarber – 11
Jordan Walker – 12

In his first All Star game and Home Run Derby, Jordan Walker takes home the crossed bat trophy as the 2026 champion!  He is the first ever St. Louis Cardinal to win the Home Run Derby.

When asked how he did it, Walker said he didn’t know..  Dad said that Jordan was awesome today. 

When Jordan was six years old, he hit a home run that hit his grandma’s car.