HOME RUN DERBY
Giancarlo Stanton has a title to defend.
Monday night, baseball fans will be treated to the 32nd edition of the Home Run Derby, and Stanton — making his third appearance — is looking to become the third participant to repeat after blasting a record 61 homers to win in 2016.
This year’s event (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) has retained the threeround, single-elimination bracket system, allotting four minutes a round to each batter.
Like last year, every participant was seeded according to his home run total before July 5. Stanton is the exception; he was given the No. 1 seed for being the reigning champion despite hitting just 21 before the cut-off date. Home run totals since June 15 served as the tiebreaker where necessary.
The top-seeded batter in each matchup will be given the opportunity to hit second, and each round will immediately end if the second batter surpasses his opponent’s total.
Outside of Stanton, every participant will be making his first appearance.
Competitors, along with seed and first-half home run total: American League No. 5: Miguel Sano, 3B, Minneso- ta Twins (21) No. 8: Gary Sanchez, C, New York Yankees (13) No. 2: Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees (30) No. 4: Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals (25) National League No. 1: Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Miami Marlins (26) No. 3: Cody Bellinger, 1B-OF, Los Angeles Dodgers (25) No. 7: Justin Bour, 1B, Miami Marlins (20) No. 6: Charlie Blackmon, OF, Colorado Rockies (20)