Alonso to compete in Home Run Derby for 5th time, seeking 3rd win

Pete Alonso will participate in his fifth straight Home Run Derby, with the New York Mets first baseman trying to win for the third time.

Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr., Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson, Philadelphia's Alec Bohm and Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna also have committed to Monday's event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas at 8 p.m. ET.

On Tuesday, Cleveland's Jose Ramirez became the sixth member of the eight-man field.

A switch-hitter, Ramirez was part of the 2022 competition at Dodger Stadium.

Sluggers Adolis Garcia (Texas Rangers) and Teoscar Hernandez (Los Angeles Dodgers) completed the eight-man field on Wednesday.

Garcia, last year's American League Championship Series MVP, is the only player in the derby who wasn't selected to the all-star game.

In last year's derby, he was knocked out by Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena in the first round at Seattle's T-Mobile Park.

Two Rangers have won the derby: Ruben Sierra and Cincinnati's Eric Davis were co-winners in 1989 at Anaheim Stadium, and Juan Gonzalez won in 1993 at Baltimore's Camden Yards.

Alonso made his announcement last Sunday on Instagram.

'I want to inspire the youth'

Alonso talked about it more in-depth Monday before the Mets played the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He said he wants to use whatever winnings he earns to refurbish amateur baseball fields through his charitable foundation. Alonso has donated portions of his previous derby prizes to the Wounded Warrior Project aiding wounded service members and Tunnel to Towers, which supports first responders and their families.

"It's something I'm very excited about and I'm happy they asked me because it's an opportunity to give back to the game," Alonso said. "I want to inspire the youth, get more kids out there playing baseball across the U.S."

Ken Griffey Jr. is the only three-time champion of the derby, which started in 1985, winning in 1994, 1998 and 1999.

Alonso won the competition in 2019 as a rookie at Cleveland's Progressive Field, edging Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero 23-22 in the final round, then repeated in 2021 at Denver's Coors Field, beating Baltimore's Trey Mancini by the same score. There was no derby in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Alonso was eliminated by Seattle's Julio Rodriguez in the 2022 semifinals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Juan Soto, then of Washington, went on to win.

Alonso was knocked out 41-21 by Rodriguez last year at Seattle's T-Mobile Park, where Guerrero took the title and joined Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (2007) to become the first father-son duo to accomplish the feat.

"I love participating because it's a full stadium and the fans are there to see the same thing," Alonso said. "I think the cool part of our game is seeing balls hit far and hard. I think it's a great event. I really like doing it because growing up watching it, was like `If I have an opportunity to do it, I will.' Taking me back to 7-year-old me, it's a dream come true."

In last year's event, Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman failed to make it out of the first round despite clobbering 27 homers, prompting MLB to shift the bracket-style system to begin with the semifinals.

All eight participants will compete in the same pool in the first round. The top four homer totals advance. If players are tied after the first round, the tiebreaker will be the player with the longest home run of the round.

Another significant change: players can see a maximum of 40 pitches during their three-minute clock for the first round and the semifinals. The finals will be two minutes long or 27 pitches, whichever comes first.

The untimed bonus period provides unlimited additional pitches until three outs are reached. An additional out can be earned by hitting a home run of at least 425 feet.