Prior to the 1985 All-Star Game being played, a new tradition was born when Major League Baseball adopted an official format for a Home Run Derby. Though these types of contests had taken place before, this was the first time it was going to be acknowledged by the League.
From 1985 through 1990, the Home Run Derby was structured as a two-inning event with each participant getting five outs per inning. Since 1991, eight to ten players, were chosen to participate in a three round contest to determine the Home Run Derby Champion. Each player received ten outs per round as they attempted to hit as many home runs as they could.
The top four, regardless of their league affiliation, have advanced to the second round. If a tie existed among players for advancement into Round 2, the player with the most regular season home runs at the All-Star break advanced. The second tie breaker, if necessary, is distance of longest home run in Round One.
The 2005 Derby was the first "we are the world" long ball contest. It featured eight sluggers from eight different countries, paying homage to the 2006 World Baseball Classic — the first international baseball tournament which will include Major League players from the twenty-five man rosters of each Major League team.
Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a complete breakdown of every Home Run Derby played between 2000 and 2009. Though the criteria, rules, and results have changed the event is still a fan favorite and we hope this page is informative.
"I remember in 1999 sitting there watching Mark McGwire hit balls five-hundred ninety (590) feet. I just hope mine go three-hundred thirty (330) feet and go over the wall. I don't hit tape measure shots. I hit line drives and squeakers that just clear the wall. As long as it goes over the fence, that's all that counts." - Luis Gonzalez in the 2000 Home Run Derby (ESPN)
2009 Home Run Derby2009 Home Run Derby Official Logo Busch Stadium / St. Louis, Missouri |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Semis | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Prince Fielder | Milwaukee | 11 | 6 | 6 | 23 | 503' |
2nd | Nelson Cruz | Texas | 11 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 471' |
3rd | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia | 7 | 8 | n/a | 15 | 435' |
4th | Albert Pujols | St. Louis | 5 (2) | 6 | n/a | 11 | 449' |
5th | Carlos Pena | TampaBay | 5 (1) | n/a | n/a | 5 | 454' |
Joe Mauer | Minnesota | 5 (0) | n/a | n/a | 5 | 458' | |
7th | Adrian Gonzalez | San Diego | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | 416' |
8th | Brandon Inge | Detroit | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0 | n/a |
2009 Home Run Derby / Note: Round 1 (x) are Swing Off Numbers | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2008 Home Run Derby2008 Home Run Derby Official Logo Yankee Stadium / New York, New York |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Semis | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Justin Morneau | Minnesota | 8 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 512' |
2nd | Josh Hamilton | Texas | 28 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 518' |
3rd | Lance Berkman | Houston | 8 | 6 | n/a | 14 | 476' |
4th | Ryan Braun | Milwaukee | 7 | 7 | n/a | 14 | uk |
5th | Grady Sizemore | Cleveland | 6 | n/a | n/a | 6 | 448' |
Dan Uggla | Florida | 6 | n/a | n/a | 6 | 437' | |
7th | Chase Utley | Philadelphia | 5 | n/a | n/a | 5 | ---' |
8th | Evan Longoria | TampaBay | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | ---' |
2008 Home Run Derby | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2007 Home Run Derby2007 Home Run Derby Official Logo AT&T Park / San Francisco, California |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Semis | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | VladimirGuerrero | LosAngeles | 5 | 9 | 3 | 17 | 503' |
2nd | Alex Rios | Toronto | 5 | 12 | 2 | 19 | 454' |
3rd | Matt Holliday | Colorado | 5 | 8 | n/a | 13 | 475' |
4th | Albert Pujols | St. Louis | 4 | 9 | n/a | 13 | 459' |
5th | Justin Morneau | Minnesota | 4 | n/a | n/a | 4 | 430' |
6th | Prince Fielder | Milwaukee | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | 455' |
7th | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | 477' |
8th | Magglio Ordonez | Detroit | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | 422' |
2007 Home Run Derby | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2006 Home Run Derby2006 Home Run Derby Official Logo PNC Park / Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Semis | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia | 8 | 10 | 5 | 23 | ---' |
2nd | David Wright | New York | 16 | 2 | 4 | 22 | ---' |
3rd | Miguel Cabrera | Florida | 9 | 6 | n/a | 15 | ---' |
4th | David Ortiz | Boston | 10 | 3 | n/a | 13 | ---' |
5th | Jermaine Dye | Chicago | 7 | n/a | n/a | 7 | ---' |
6th | Miguel Tejada | Baltimore | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | ---' |
7th | LanceBerkman | Houston | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | ---' |
8th | Troy Glaus | Toronto | 1 | n/a | n/a | 1 | ---' |
2006 Home Run Derby | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2005 Home Run Derby2005 Home Run Derby Official Logo Comerica Park / Detroit, Michigan |
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Place | Country | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Semis | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Bobby Abreu | Philadelphia | 24 | 6 | 11 | 41 | 517' | |
2nd | Ivan Rodriguez | Detroit | 7 | 8 | 5 | 20 | ---' | |
3rd | Carlos Lee | Milwaukee | 11 | 4 | n/a | 15 | ---' | |
4th | David Ortiz | Boston | 17 | 3 | n/a | 20 | ---' | |
5th | Hee-SeopChoi | LosAngeles | 5 | n/a | n/a | 5 | ---' | |
6th | Andruw Jones | Atlanta | 5 | n/a | n/a | 5 | ---' | |
7th | Mark Teixeira | Texas | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | ---' | |
8th | Jason Bay | Pittsburgh | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0 | ---' | |
2005 Home Run Derby | ||||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2004 Home Run Derby2004 Home Run Derby Official Logo Minute Maid Park / Houston, Texas |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Semis | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Miguel Tejada | Baltimore | 7 | 15 | 5 | 27 | 497' |
2nd | LanceBerkman | Houston | 7 | 10 | 4 | 21 | 493' |
3rd | RafaelPalmeiro | Baltimore | 9 | 5 | n/a | 14 | 445' |
4th | Barry Bonds | SanFrancisco | 8 | 3 | n/a | 11 | 483' |
5th | Sammy Sosa | Chicago | 5 | n/a | n/a | 5 | 451' |
6th | Jim Thome | Philadelphia | 4 | n/a | n/a | 4 | 430' |
7th | Hank Blalock | Texas | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | 453' |
8th | David Ortiz | Boston | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | 419' |
2004 Home Run Derby | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2003 Home Run Derby2003 Home Run Derby Official Logo U.S. Cellular Field / Chicago, Illinois |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round 1 | Semis | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Garret Anderson | California | 7 | 6 (3) | 9 | 22 | 430' |
2nd | Albert Pujols | St. Louis | 4 (1) | 14 (2) | 8 | 26 | 478' |
3rd | Jason Giambi | New York | 12 | 11 | n/a | 23 | 446' |
4th | Jim Edmonds | St. Louis | 4 (1) | 4 | n/a | 8 | 426' |
5th | Gary Sheffield | Atlanta | 4 | n/a | n/a | 4 | 413' |
6th | Carlos Delgado | Toronto | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | 434' |
7th | Richie Sexson | Milwaukee | 1 | n/a | n/a | 1 | 383' |
8th | Bret Boone | Seattle | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0 | n/a |
1 advanced due to higher season total 2 defeated Giambi in the semis 3 defeated Edmonds in the semis | |||||||
2003 Home Run Derby | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2002 Home Run Derby2002 Home Run Derby Official Logo Miller Park / Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Round2 | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Jason Giambi | New York | 11 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 488' |
2nd | Sammy Sosa | Chicago | 12 | 5 | 1 | 18 | 524' |
3rd | Paul Konerko | Chicago | 6 | 6 | n/a | 12 | 473' |
4th | Richie Sexson | Milwaukee | 6 | 4 | n/a | 10 | 480' |
5th | Torii Hunter | Minnesota | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | 420' |
6th | Alex Rodriguez | Texas | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | 492' |
Barry Bonds | SanFrancisco | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | 433' | |
8th | LanceBerkman | Houston | 1 | n/a | n/a | 1 | 430' |
2002 Home Run Derby | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2001 Home Run Derby2001 Home Run Derby Official Logo Safeco Field / Seattle, Washington |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Round2 | Finals | Total | Long |
1st | Luis Gonzalez | Arizona | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 440' |
2nd | Sammy Sosa | Chicago | 3 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 468' |
3rd | Jason Giambi | Oakland | 14 | 6 | n/a | 20 | 460' |
4th | Barry Bonds | SanFrancisco | 7 | 3 | n/a | 10 | 476' |
5th | Bret Boone | Seattle | 3 | n/a | n/a | 3 | 406' |
6th | Todd Helton | Colorado | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | 425' |
AlexRodriguez | Texas | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | 415' | |
8th | Troy Glaus | Anaheim | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0 | n/a |
2001 Home Run Derby | |||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
2000 Home Run Derby2000 Home Run Derby Official Logo Turner Field / Atlanta, Georgia |
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Place | Name(s) | Team | Round1 | Round2 | Finals | Total |
1st | Sammy Sosa | Chicago | 6 | 11 | 9 | 26 |
2nd | Ken Griffey, Jr. | Cincinnati | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
3rd | Carl Everett | Boston | 6 | 6 | n/a | 12 |
4th | Carlos Delgado | Toronto | 5 | 1 | n/a | 6 |
5th | Edgar Martinez | Seattle | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 |
Chipper Jones | Atlanta | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | |
VladimirGuerrero | Montreal | 2 | n/a | n/a | 2 | |
8th | Ivan Rodriguez | Texas | 1 | n/a | n/a | 1 |
2000 Home Run Derby | ||||||
1985-1989 HR Derby | 1990-1999 HR Derby | 2010-2012 HR Derby |
In 2001 Luis Gonzalez said after the Home Run Derby, "I just want to be consistent. That's the main thing. The home runs have been coming, but it's streaky for me. I know that if I continue to hit home runs the media is going to pick up on it, but that does not affect me. Hopefully, it won't hinder our ballclub."
Did you know that Ken Griffey, Jr. has won the Home Run Derby (1994, 1998 & 1999) more often than any other participant in Home Run Derby history?
Discuss the All-Star Game Home Run Derby on Baseball Fever, the single largest baseball forum on the Internet - serious baseball / serious fans.