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MLB Announces Global Tour called 'Home Run Derby X'

Major League Baseball recently announced the creation of a global tour, with the goal of spreading the game of baseball around the globe.

Author:
Declan Harris
Apr 2, 2022 11:00 AM EDT

In recent months, Major League Baseball has taken measures to help spread baseball around the world, mainly with the inclusion of more cities taking part in international series, which take place during the regular season.

Their most recent step toward spreading America's past time is a global tour called, "Home Run Derby X," which is set to take place in several cities across the globe, such as Seoul, Mexico City, and London, per ESPN.

The tour itself is a series of home run derbies, where batters will face 25 pitches with only 10 swings allowed on a smaller baseball field. The scoring system in Home Run Derby X is different than the original Home Run Derby, with hitters receiving points for hitting the ball at targets roughly 160 feet from home plate. Players can score even more points for home runs. The opposing team, who roam the field, can also score points by catching balls that don't leave play.

The final quirk of scoring: both teams are allowed to call for a "hot streak," which causes all points earned via the following five pitches to be doubled. This applies on both the offense and defense.

The four teams to feature in the first tour of 'Home Run Derby X' are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees. Each team will feature some former baseball stars, including Nick Swisher for the Yankees, Adrian Gonzalez for the Dodgers, Jonny Gomes for the Red Sox, and Geovany Soto for the Cubs.

In addition to some former players, each roster will also feature one player from the world of softball and women's baseball, a rookie from their respective club, and even some content creators.

As it stands, the rosters for each team are as follows:

Cubs: Geovany Soto, Alex Hugo, Spencer Owen

Dodgers: Adrian Gonzalez, Ashton Lansdell, Yoongy Kwak

Red Sox: Jonny Gomes, Paige Halstead, Liv Cooke

Yankees: Nick Swisher, Erika Piancastelli, Sefania Aradillas (for Mexico City only), Daniel Corral

The rookies for each squad will be named at a later date.

The first Home Run Derby X is set to take place on July 9 from Crystal Palace stadium in London, with the second derby taking place in Seoul, South Korea on September 17, and Mexico City on October 15, according to ESPN.