Get ready, because Home Run Derby X is coming…and it’s gonna be Swishalicious!
Major League Baseball announced Wednesday the launch of Home Run Derby X, “an electrifying new baseball format that takes MLB on a global tour,” with stops in London on July 9, Seoul on Sept. 17, and Mexico City on Oct. 15.
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The Yankees will be one of four teams, along with the Dodgers, Cubs, and Red Sox, competing in the events, which will include four-person squads featuring an MLB Legend, Superstar, Rookie and Wild Card.
The former is self-explanatory, but the Superstars will be softball or women’s baseball players, Rookies will come from the men’s baseball development system, and Wild Cards are “influential content creators, fired up for a huge challenge, as they embark on an intensive training program taking them from baseball beginner to big hitter.”
The Bomb(ers) Squad has a big name as the legend: one Nick Swisher, who was one of the biggest fan favorites of the late 2000s/early 2010s teams and hit 105 of his 245 career homers in pinstripes. The Wild Card will be Daniel Corral, a Mexican gymnast who won 11 international medals in his career, and the Superstar will be either Erika Piancastelli (Seoul/London) or Stefania Aradillas (Mexico City), who represented Italy and Mexico, respectively, in softball at the Olympics last summer.
MLB announced the Legend, Superstar, and Wild Card for each of the other three teams -- Swisher’s counterparts are Geovany Soto (Cubs), Jonny Gomes (Red Sox), and Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers) – but the Rookies will be announced at a future date.
So what is HRDX?
Well, it’s a home run derby-type event that will be played on a smaller version of a baseball field, with home plate mounted on a stage, the mound on a podium, and a field of play that is “adaptable and has been designed to fit within a variety of environments, from festival sites to stadiums.”
Each batter has one at-bat of 25 pitches while two opponents play defense, and homers are one point for the offense while catches are one point for the defense. Additional ways to score include hitting certain targets or each batter’s “Hot Streak” – five consecutive pitches where homers and targets hit, as well as catches, count double.
Per MLB’s release, the event is “inspired by the success and simplicity” of the Home Run Derby and was developed “with the goal of attracting a new audience to baseball and creating high-energy live event experiences and opportunities for digital storytelling.”
The four teams will compete in a bracket style competition at each event, and will earn points based on finish to determine their position on the Home Run Derby X Tour leaderboard. Those standings will determine seeding for the final event, which will be an elimination tournament to crown a tour champion.
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