***The T-Mobile Home Run Derby Thread***

[cmh6476]

https://www.mlb.com/all-star/home-run-derby

ESPN will exclusively televise the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at 8 p.m. ET. The event will also be available on ESPN+, the ESPN app, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes.

new rules...

'Knockout style' doesn’t begin until semifinals

Last year, the entire Derby was an eight-person, single-elimination bracket, with three rounds. The No. 1 seed faced the No. 8 seed in the first round, and the No. 2 seed faced the No. 7 seed, and so on, with seeds being determined by how many regular-season homers each player had hit up to that point. As such, the entire competition was “knockout style,” with any player needing to win three separate one-on-one matchups to win the overall title.

This year, there’s still an element of one-on-one showdowns, but that won’t come into play until the semifinals. This year’s first round will have no predetermined seeds, and it will instead consist of all eight hitters competing, with the top four performers advancing to the semifinals. At that point, the format will shift to No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3, but those seeds will solely be determined by the number of homers each player hit in the first round, so they will have nothing to do with regular season performance.

Should there be a tie in terms of multiple players hitting the same number of home runs in the first round, the tiebreaker will be who had the longest home run hit in that round.

A pitch limit is now in place

Last year, there was no formal maximum number of pitches that a hitter could see during an individual round. It was still the case that a lead official had to notify the pitcher when he or she could throw the next pitch to the batter, based on whether it was clear that the previous batted ball would or wouldn’t result in a home run. But beyond getting that approval from the official, there was no stopping a pitcher from going as fast as he or she wanted.

This year, that’s no longer the case. The first two rounds will still be three minutes, and the final round will still be two minutes, as was the case before 2024. But now, there’s also a maximum number of pitches each hitter can see in each round. The first round and semifinals will conclude whenever three minutes, or 40 pitches, comes first (excluding the bonus period, which will be explained below). Likewise, the finals will conclude whenever two minutes, or 27 pitches, comes first, excluding the bonus period.

Bonus pitches are no longer on a timer

Last year, there was an automatic 30 seconds of extra time granted to each batter at the conclusion of each regulation period. Then, beyond that, a hitter could also earn an additional 30 seconds of bonus time -- giving him 60 bonus seconds total -- if he hit two home runs of at least 440 feet during the regulation period.

This year, the bonus pitches are different both in terms of how they are acquired, and how long the bonus period lasts. Instead of getting an automatic 30 seconds of extra time, each player now gets bonus pitches up until they record three outs within that bonus period. Furthermore, if a player hits a home run of at least 425 feet within the bonus period, then the bonus period is extended to last until the player records his fourth out in that period. But it’s no longer the case that hitting especially far home runs during the regulation period leads to extra bonus time.

So what’s still the same?

For one, the timing aspect hasn’t changed at its core. Before getting into the intricacies of the bonus rules, each of the first two rounds will last three minutes, and the final round will last two minutes, which hasn’t changed from 2023.

Additionally, the timeout rules are the same. Each batter is entitled to one 45-second timeout in each of the three regulation periods, but timeouts cannot be called during the bonus periods.

And, finally, the tiebreaker system, once the “Knockout” stage has begun, will be the same as it has been. Ties in the semifinals or finals will be broken by a 60-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added. If a tie remains after the swing-off, batters will engage in successive three-swing “swing-offs” until there is a winner.

All in all, the Derby will look slightly different than it ever has before. But with the best of the best of MLB’s power hitters taking the stage at Globe Life Field, it should still be a sight to behold for baseball fans around the world.

[Bearcat]

HR Derby anthem singer Ingrid Andress says she was drunk

Jul 16, 2024, 02:10 PM ET

After a widely panned performance of the U.S. national anthem at the MLB Home Run Derby, country singer Ingrid Andress apologized Tuesday and said she was drunk.

"I'm checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need," she posted on social media. "That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...says-was-drunk

[chiefzilla1501]

Crazy, so the anthem singer was drunk and put herself into rehab. I don't know how I feel about it but at least she was immediately honest and is supposedly seeking help

[ku_jhawk23]

Originally Posted by smithandrew051

Carlos Beltran probably.

Hosmer

[Sassy Squatch]

What a load of complete horseshit. Plenty of singers can't even function properly without being drunk or high. Poor girl just never had anyone honest enough to tell her she's ****ing rotten without having her voice digitized.

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Another crappy Trashville "country" singer.

If she didn't look pretty, she would be a waitress somewhere.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Sassy Squatch

What a load of complete horseshit. Plenty of singers can't even function properly without being drunk or high. Poor girl just never had anyone honest enough to tell her she's ****ing rotten without having her voice digitized.

I've honestly never heard any of her other stuff. But I find it hard to believe that a seasoned singer (even with autotune) could be that awful unless it was on purpose. I imagine she's not a particularly good singer as it is. But there are some good explanations. Being drunk alone... Meh, but I wouldn't be surprised if her tech sucked and she couldn't hear herself which doesn't help if you're hammered. And she looked like she was on something for sure. I dunno, it feels way different from Fergie who looked like she was really trying. I remember mariah storming off the stage on new years because the AVs were screwed up

If she's legit checking into rehab and it's not an excuse or ass saving publicity stunt I'm willing to give a little grace.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Crazy, so the anthem singer was drunk and put herself into rehab. I don't know how I feel about it but at least she was immediately honest and is supposedly seeking help

Well, that may be part of it but this also illustrates what is wrong with the music industry these days. I was like who the heck was that girl? Never heard of her. Then I looked up her music and realized that I have heard this song.

[chiefzilla1501]

It wouldn't shock me if she had some kind of autotune on the wrong key and/or she couldn't hear herself with all the noise.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Crazy, so the anthem singer was drunk and put herself into rehab. I don't know how I feel about it but at least she was immediately honest and is supposedly seeking help

I am having a hard time believing that was all alcohol. Seen a lot of drunk karaoke but never heard anything that terrible.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Well, that may be part of it but this also illustrates what is wrong with the music industry these days. I was like who the heck was that girl? Never heard of her. Then I looked up her music and realized that I have heard this song.

Yeah, for sure. I haven't heard any of her stuff until today. I don't doubt her voice is heavily digitized but she seens to do enough ballads where I just don't buy that she naturally sings that badly. something went way off the rails that was unnatural. May performers have lip synced the anthem because so much can go wrong

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by wazu

I am having a hard time believing that was all alcohol. Seen a lot of drunk karaoke but never heard anything that terrible.

She did look sauced though so i buy that. I agree I don't think it's the sole explanation but I could see it being a factor.

Also, assuming it was just booze because she looked like she was on another planet

[chiefzilla1501]

Also, not to dwell on this too much but the first half wasn't good but it was on key. The second half wasn't just off key, it was off the keyboard. So it seems plausible her tech malfunctioned at some point in the performance.