Title: Home Run Derby Game
# of Players: 2
It might surprise you to hear that one of my favorite annual events to watch is the MLB Home Run Derby. Even though this event is seemingly quite repetitive and sometimes difficult to see the complete path of the ball, I love it! My friend Brian and I created a game years ago which makes watching this event exciting! I have competed against him for the past decade and several others through the years including fantasy baseball expert Paul Sporer.
The Draft
We use a simple snake draft format. How to determine who drafts first is up to you. You can use a coin flip, age, bank account, fantasy baseball standings, etc. to determine who picks first. Often, my friend will defer the first pick to me knowing that getting 2 of the top 3 hopefully will improve his odds of winning more than trying to pick the 1 winner out of the 8 competitors.
In 2022, I selected back-to-back champion Pete Alonso with the first overall pick hoping that he would deliver a third consecutive win. Brian proceeded to pick 2021 semifinalist Juan Soto (WAS) followed by rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez (SEA) with his first two picks (1.2, 2.1). I followed up his two picks with #1 ranked (determined by how many home runs he had hit up to that point in the season) Kyle Schwarber (PHI) followed by #3 ranked Corey Seager (TEX). At this point, I have now secured the top 3 ranked players. If these rankings mattered, I was about to run away with this competition. Brian proceeded to select Ronald Acuna (ATL) followed by our hometown hero 42-year old Albert Pujols (STL). This allowed me to select 5th ranked Jose Ramirez (CLE) with the final selection giving me 4 of the top 5 ranked hitters heading into the contest.
| Pick | Player | Manager |
| 1.1 | Pete Alonso | Jeremy |
| 1.2 | Juan Soto | Brian |
| 2.1 | Julio Rodriguez | Brian |
| 2.2 | Kyle Schwarber | Jeremy |
| 3.1 | Corey Seager | Jeremy |
| 3.2 | Ronald Acuna | Brian |
| 4.1 | Albert Pujols | Brian |
| 4.2 | Jose Ramirez | Jeremy |
The Scoring
Each home run is worth 1 point. Hitters that advance to Round 2 are awarded a 20-point bonus. Hitters that advance to Round 3 are awarded a 30-point bonus. The winner is awarded a 50-point bonus.
Round 1
Jeremy’s Team
| Player | Points from HRs | Bonus Points | Total Points |
| Schwarber | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| Alonso | 20 | 20 | 40 |
| Seager | 24 | 0 | 24 |
| Ramirez | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Total | 80 | 20 | 100 |
Brian’s Team
| Player | Points from HRs | Bonus Points | Total Points |
| Rodriguez | 32 | 20 | 52 |
| Soto | 18 | 20 | 38 |
| Acuna | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| Pujols | 20 | 20 | 40 |
| Total | 89 | 60 | 149 |
Well, that did not quite work out the way I anticipated that it would. Pujols defeated Schwarber in a swing off after initially being tied 13-13. Soto defeated Ramirez 18-17. JRod blew out Corey Seager 32-24. I almost was swept out of the competition in round 1! Good thing the Polar Bear (Pete Alonso) did not let me down. He was able to take out Acuna 20-19 advancing to the second round. If Alonso can run the table, I might have a fighting chance. But already, things are looking bleak for Team Jeremy.
Round 2
Jeremy’s Team
| Player | Points from HRs | Bonus Points | Total Points |
| Schwarber | – | – | – |
| Alonso | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| Seager | – | – | – |
| Ramirez | – | – | – |
| Total | 23 | 0 | 23 |
Brian’s Team
| Player | Points from HRs | Bonus Points | Total Points |
| Rodriguez | 31 | 30 | 61 |
| Soto | 16 | 30 | 46 |
| Acuna | – | – | – |
| Pujols | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Total | 62 | 60 | 122 |
In the semifinals, things went from bad to worse for Team Jeremy when JRod knocked out Alonso continuing his impressive home run hitting with another 30+ home run performance, the first competitor to record two such rounds in the same competition. His 32 and 31 home run rounds each rank in the top 5 for most home runs hit in a round during the history of the event.
Let’s get a score update!
| Team | Jeremy | Brian |
| Round 1 | 100 | 149 |
| Round 2 | 23 | 122 |
| Total | 123 | 271 |
Boy! That was a bad idea. I lost. I have no hitters left in the competition and Brian has the final two. Let’s suppose Alonso would have knocked off JRod 23 – 22. In that fictional scenario, the score heading into the finals would have been 123 – 232. Even if Alonso had won, which brings with it a 50-point bonus, he would have had to win the competition by 59 home runs! No chance!
Round 3 (Final Round)
Jeremy’s Team
| Player | Points from HRs | Bonus Points | Total Points |
| Schwarber | – | – | – |
| Alonso | – | – | – |
| Seager | – | – | – |
| Ramirez | – | – | – |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brian’s Team
| Player | Points from HRs | Bonus Points | Total Points |
| Rodriguez | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Soto | 19 | 50 | 46 |
| Acuna | – | – | – |
| Pujols | – | – | – |
| Total | 37 | 50 | 87 |
| Team | Jeremy | Brian |
| Round 1 | 100 | 149 |
| Round 2 | 23 | 122 |
| Round 3 | 0 | 87 |
| Total | 123 | 358 |
In the finals of the Home Run Derby, JRod’s steam ran out, losing 18-19 to Juan Soto in the finals. Unfortunately for the rookie, he had to bat first in each of his three rounds which resulted in Soto extending more energy than needed in the first two rounds winning each of them by 8 home runs.
2022 Home Run Derby Bracket
The Winner
Final score: Jeremy 123, Brian 358. Brian is the winner! It is up to you as far as what to do with this information. We typically just play for pride, but you could certainly play for higher stakes – a beer, dinner, $20, etc.
The Strategy
You might notice that in last year’s draft, neither Brian nor myself drafted two players that were scheduled to play each other in the first round. You are allowed to do this and it is a strategy to consider using. This would guarantee that you have at least 1 hitter advancing to the second round. As you can see in the results above, I almost got swept out of the competition in the first round. After hitting 10 home runs in the first 1:40 in round 1, Alonso took his time out needing only 9 to tie and 10 to advance. Down 17-19 with his 1:00 minute bonus time to come, Alonso took a drink of water offered by Jeff McNeil after turning down Gatorade from the ball boy. In the bonus time, he took care of business hitting 3 home runs securing the 1st round victory (and 20 bonus points for me). Unfortunately, he simply could not replicate JRod’s spectacular performance in the 2nd round and was ushered out of the competition.
2023 Bracket
Concluding Thoughts
Reach out to me on Twitter (@JeremyGibbs2) and let me know what you think of this game. I would love to hear the stories of the game being played by others. If you want to challenge me, hit me up! Just remember Yogi Berra’s quote, “You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it’ll go.”
