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2018 Home Run Derby Results: Winner, Takeaways from New Format
July 17, 2018
While he may be doing poorly in the batting average column during this regular season, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper blew away the competition in exciting fashion to win the 2018 Home Run Derby hitting a total of 45 home runs.
While he may have only won by one home run in each round, he still managed to pull off an improbable victory.
With just around 1:30 left in the final round, Harper was down 18-9, but he stormed back and seemed to just knock home run after home run if the ball was anywhere near the zone.
To make it even better, the pitches came from his dad.
Below, we'll recap each round with the home run totals and comment on some takeaways from the event.
2018 Home Run Derby Results
First Round
No. 2 Bryce Harper 13, No. 7 Freddie Freeman, 12
No. 3 Max Muncy 17, No. 6 Javier Baez, 16
No. 8 Rhys Hoskins 17, No. 1 Jesus Aguilar, 12
No. 5 Kyle Schwarber 16, No. 4 Alex Bregman, 15
Semifinals
No. 2 Bryce Harper 13, No. 3 Max Muncy, 12
No. 5 Kyle Schwarber 21, No. 8 Rhys Hoskins, 20
Finals
No. 2 Bryce Harper 19, No. 5 Kyle Schwarber, 18
Format Takeaways
1. Timed Rounds Are Best
For so long, we had the "10-out" format. While it allowed us to see some wild home run totals, the event would drag on to the point where viewers would just tune out.
Now, with the timed rounds, it adds intrigue, and we saw that firsthand as Harper hit his 18th home run in the final round with just seconds left.
The event still went around 2.5 hours, but it felt shorter than that due to the timer.
It almost makes you wonder what baseball would be like if instead of innings we had a time clock.
No, I'm joking. Don't hurt me.
The rounds have a timeout, which will help competitors preserve some energy.
2. Seedings Need to Be Reworked
The seeding system is a bit broken, though it might be tough to figure out.
For example, Rhys Hoskins is an incredible power hitter, but due to injury, he was the No. 8 seed and dominated the No. 1 seed, Jesus Aguilar.
Instead, maybe they should do the seedings based on an average length of home runs. While that may be an inexact science with different home run totals, it would at least give some insight into the competitor's overall power.
Either way, whatever MLB decides, total home runs is not a good determiner. We also saw No. 1 seed Giancarlo Stanton lose last year in the opening round.
What do you think would be a better idea?
3. This Was a Fun Group
Yeah, the header says it all. This was just a fun cast of guys to compete in this.
Sure, having New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge back in it to defend his title would have been fun, but there was no clear-cut winner from this one, though Harper was in front of his home audience.
All eight guys had a legitimate shot at winning—my favorite was Muncy.
Even down to the final round, we had Schwarber vs. Harper, who put on an entertaining round, capped off by a Harper walk-off with his extra time.
The 2019 Home Run Derby has a lot to live up to, that's for sure!