Sluggers Jose Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki are the captains for the American League and National League home run derby teams. They completed selecting their five-man squads last night with interesting choices, and the event is now set for Monday, July 14.
Bautista selected Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson as his final pick, who is also participating in the all-star game on Tuesday. Tulowitzki decided to choose current Rockies teammate and first baseman Justin Morneau most likely because of his experience in the event - he won the 2008 Home Run Derby at the old Yankee Stadium after defeating Josh Hamilton in the final round.
The American League derby team consists of Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista, Oakland Athletics Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson, Baltimore Orioles Adam Jones, and Minnesota Twins Brian Dozier. The National League team includes Colorado Rockies Troy Tulowitzki and Justin Morneau, Miami Marlins Giancarlo Stanton, Los Angeles Dodgers Yasiel Puig, and Cincinnati Reds Todd Frazier.
Blue Jays outfielder and derby captain Jose Bautista is batting .292 with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs, compared to his competition, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who is batting a ridiculous .350 with 20 home runs and 49 RBIs. Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes won the 2013 Home Run Derby at Citi Field after ripping nine home runs in the final round to defeat Washington Nationals Bryce Harper. He's currently batting .252 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs. Additionally, Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton leads the National League in home runs with 21.
Other notable home run leaders who either bowed out of the competition or weren't picked include Orioles' Nelson Cruz (28 home runs), White Sox's Jose Abreu (28), Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion (26), Tigers' Victor Martinez (21), Angels' Mike Trout (21) and Albert Pujols (20).
The 2014 Home Run Derby will introduce a new format, giving each batter seven outs per round, followed by bracketed play in the subsequent rounds. After the first round, the player who hits the most home runs on each team will receive a bye into the semi-finals, while the next two players from each team will face-off head-to-head (AL vs. AL and NL vs. NL). The finals will be the AL winner vs. the NL winner for the derby crown.
The event will be broadcasted live on ESPN, Monday, July 14, at 8:00 p.m. You can read more about the 2014 Home Run Derby in this MLB.com article.
