MLB Home Run Derby X is an exciting new baseball format! A 3-on-3 co-ed competition built around power hitting and defensive hustle. The event features four teams. Each team is led by an MLB legend. Two semi-finals. One final. Non-stop action. Coming to Parkview Field on August 10 (7pm start)!

Major League Baseball has announced that Home Run Derby X, an exciting new baseball format built around power hitting and defensive hustle, will be on display at Parkview Field on Saturday, August 10 (7pm start)! The event will take place while the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Minor League Baseball’s High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres) are away.

MLB legends Dexter Fowler, Jake Arrieta, Carlos Gómez and Nick Swisher will be joined by softball and women’s baseball stars Jocelyn Alo, Alex Hugo, Ashton Lansdell, and Paige Halstead. Meanwhile, four area college players have been selected to participate (Justin Osterhouse - Purdue Fort Wayne; Sam Gladd - Taylor University; Sam Pesa - University of Saint Francis; Jack Ferguson - Indiana Tech), plus two more as alternates (Nick Hockemeyer - Purdue Fort Wayne; Jordan Mallot -Indiana Tech), and two high school student-athletes will serve as catchers (Johnnie Ankenbruck - Homestead; Braden Christlieb - Carroll).

Tickets are available online, as well as at the Parkview Field Ticket Office and by calling 260-482-6400. Seats for this affordable, family-friendly event start at just $12. The event will be capped by a spectacular fireworks show.

HRDX is a Home Run Derby with defense. A single game takes about 30 minutes. Each player gets one at bat of two minutes thirty seconds. During an at bat the opposing team is in the outfield to make catches. Teams earn offensive points for home runs and defensive points for catches. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

Bonus points are earned by hitting home runs through a centerfield target. During each at bat, batters can call for a hot streak of 5 swings where everything counts double. In the final minute of an at bat, batters can tag in a teammate to finish with a flourish.

“Major League Baseball recognizes Fort Wayne as an amazing market,” said Charlie Hill, MLB’s Vice President of International Strategy. “With Northeast Indiana being nearly equidistant to Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Detroit, we know the area has tremendous fans who will love this event. The TinCaps and Parkview Field have established a reputation as a fantastic baseball organization, so they were attractive to select as one of our four Minor League Baseball markets for Home Run Derby X in 2024.”

“The TinCaps are incredibly honored to host Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby X at Parkview Field,” said TinCaps President Mike Nutter. “We don’t take it lightly that we’re the only Minor League Baseball club outside of the Triple-A level to have this opportunity in 2024, and are determined to make this one of the best, most fan-friendly events in our ballpark’s now 15-year history of awesome promotions.”

Alo is the NCAA all-time leader in home runs (122) and slugging percentage (.987) following a decorated career at the University of Oklahoma, where she was the 2022 Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 Women’s College World Series and a two-time National Player of the Year. She was a member of the 2022 USA Softball Women’s National Team and won a 2022 ESPY for Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports. Hugo, who currently serves as a roving instructor in the Oakland Athletics organization, returns to the HRDX circuit after participating last year. She is a four-time member of the USA Women’s Baseball National Team and became the first two-time winner of the USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year Award. Lansdell returns to HRDX 2024 after playing her first season of college softball at Florida International University. Prior to that, she played exclusively baseball in high school and at Georgia Highlands College, where she became the first woman to play baseball at the National Junior College Athletic Association level. Halstead won a 2019 NCAA National Championship as a catcher at UCLA. She has been a member of the USA Women’s National Softball team where she won a gold medal in the 2017 World Cup of Softball and won silver medals in the 2016 and 2017 World Cup of Softball.

Fowler, a 14-year veteran, was a National League All-Star in 2016 with the Cubs as he starred in center field for Chicago’s World Championship club. Arrieta, who returns to HRDX, pitched for 12 years in the big leagues, winning the 2015 National League Cy Young Award, a Silver Slugger Award and was a 2016 National League All-Star as he helped the Chicago Cubs to the 2016 World Series championship. Arrieta also threw two no-hitters for the Cubs. Swisher, a 12-year MLB veteran, also returns to HRDX 2024 after participating in the 2023 U.S. tour. He was a 2010 American League All-Star for the New York Yankees after helping them to the 2009 World Series championship. Gómez, a 13-year MLB vet, was twice an NL All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers and also won a Gold Glove Award. Additionally, 2013 World Series champ from the Boston Red Sox, Jonny Gomes will be on hand as a hype man.

Fort Wayne is the first stop on this year’s Home Run Derby X schedule. The event will also visit Albuquerque (Aug. 23), Nashville (Aug. 31), and Durham (Sept. 7).