Alec Bohm has truly come into his own in 2024 and will now have a chance to show off on one of the biggest stages in baseball: the Home Run Derby. On Friday, news broke that Bohm is the second confirmed player, joining Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson, to be on the roster to compete in the 2024 T-Mobile Home Run Derby.
Alec Bohm headed to the Home Run Derby
Not a home run hitter by trade, Alec Bohm has made a career out of hitting the ball where it’s pitched, hitting to every field. He has 11 home runs on the year but a league-leading 28 doubles while also leading the National League with 70 RBI.
Bohm does, however, have a bit of experience when it comes to home run derbies, having won a home run derby in the Coastal Plain League in 2016. Per Matt Gelb of The Athletic, Bohm has asked Scott Wingo, who pitched to him at the derby in 2016, to pitch to him once more at the Major League level. Wingo is currently an assistant coach for NCAA Division I Manhattan College.
Bohm will now be the seventh player to represent the Phillies in the Home Run Derby. Fellow teammate Kyle Schwarber is the most recent to slug it out in the Derby having done so in 2022. He also joins Rhys Hoskins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Bobby Abreu, and Jim Thome, with Abreu and Howard having won the Derby in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
The 2024 Home Run Derby does come with a new format, as well. It will consist of a typical eight competitors, with each receiving three minutes (or 40 pitches maximum) per round with those numbers dropping to two minutes (27 pitches) in the finals. The top four hitters after the first round will move on, with the No. 1 slugger facing No. 4 and No. 2 facing No. 3 in the semifinals.
While the current field only consists of Bohm and Henderson, Bohm certainly will have his work cut out for him if he wants to take home the Derby crown as he is likely to face some of the best sluggers in all of baseball.
The 2024 T-Mobile Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, July 15th at 8:00 P.M. Fans will be able to follow along on ESPN.
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth