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Jose Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki named captains for 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby

Derby to introduce new format featuring 10 participants and bracketed play following first round

Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays and Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies have been named captains of the American League and National League squads for the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby, Major League Baseball announced today. Bautista, who currently leads the Majors in All-Star balloting, will be participating in his third career Home Run Derby, while Tulowitzki, the N.L. All-Star balloting leader, will take part in the event for the first time. The 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby will be held on Monday, July 14th at Target Field in Minneapolis, home of the Minnesota Twins, and televised live on ESPN beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (CT).

This year's Home Run Derby will introduce a new format, which features seven outs per round and bracketed play after the first round. A total of 10 players, including five from each league, will participate in the opening round. The player that hits the most home runs in each league will automatically receive a bye to the third round (Semi-Finals). The next two players from each league with the most home runs will square off against one another in a head-to-head matchup in the second round. The winners of these matchups will advance to the third round to face-off against the league's top seed. The final round will feature the winners of the A.L. and N.L. Semi-Finals matchups going head-to-head for the 2014 crown.

Bautista and Tulowitzki will each determine the other four participants on their teams and will personally extend the invitations. Each of the captains will select a charity of their choice for which they will hit during the Derby.

The Home Run Derby will once again raise funds for MLB's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, as well as charities selected by the captains. More than $3 million has been raised for charity over the past 10 years, including an all-time high of $615,000 donated in 2012.

Bautista, who took part in the 2011 Derby in Arizona and the 2012 Derby in Kansas City, has 15 home runs on the season and ranks fifth on Toronto's all-time home run list with 183 career homers behind George Bell (202), Joe Carter (203), Vernon Wells (223) and Carlos Delgado (336). Since the start of the 2010 season, the four-time All-Star has hit 167 home runs, which ranks second in the Majors behind Miguel Cabrera (169) of the Detroit Tigers. Bautista, who reached the final round of the Derby in 2012, has hit a total of 24 home runs in his two appearances. The 33-year-old slugger will become the second Blue Jays player to compete in the event three times, joining Carter (1991-92, 1996), and it will mark the 14th appearance overall by a Blue Jays player, extending the Club's Major League record. No other Club has had more than 12 appearances by its players in the history of the Home Run Derby.

Tulowitzki, who ranks second in the N.L. and is tied for sixth in the Majors with 18 home runs this season, will become the ninth different player in Rockies history to compete in the Derby (10th appearance overall). The 29-year-old will give the Rockies a competitor in the Derby for a third consecutive year following the participation of his teammates Carlos Gonzalez in 2012 and Michael Cuddyer in 2013. Tulowitzki will become just the seventh different shortstop to take part in the event since its inception, joining Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. (1985, 1991-92), Hubie Brooks (1986), Nomar Garciaparra (1997, 1999), Alex Rodriguez (1998, 2001-02), Miguel Tejada (2004, 2006) and Hanley Ramirez (2010). Among the previous six shortstops, Ripken (1991) and Tejada (2004) won the Derby. Since 2007, Tulowitzki has hit 172 home runs, which is tied with Ramirez for the most among all Major League shortstops.

In addition to coverage on ESPN, the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby, which is part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will be broadcast live on ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN, ESPN Mobile TV, and ESPN Radio in the U.S. as well as ESPN International beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/7:00 p.m. (CT) on Monday, July 14th. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.

2014 GILLETTE HOME RUN DERBY FORMAT

Round 1

  • Ten participants total; five participants representing each league
  • Batting order will be determined prior to the event. Hitter #1 for the N.L. will hit first followed by hitter #1 for the A.L. (home team). This order will continue for hitters #2-5 for each league, with the N.L. going first followed by the A.L.
  • Each participant will receive seven outs
  • The player from each league who hits the most home runs (A.L. 1; N.L. 1) will automatically advance to round three (Semi-Finals)
  • The next two participants with the most home runs from each league (A.L. 2; A.L. 3 / N.L. 2; N.L. 3) advance to round two

Round 2

  • The two participants advancing from round one for each league will compete against each other (A.L. 2 vs. A.L. 3 / N.L. 2 vs. N.L. 3)
  • The N.L. matchup will occur first, followed by the A.L. matchup, with N.L. 2 and A.L. 2 choosing if they want to hit first or second
  • Each participant will receive seven outs
  • The winners from the round two matchups (one from each league) will advance to round three (Semi-Finals)

Round 3 (Semi-Finals)

  • The top seed from each league (A.L. 1; N.L. 1) will face the winner from his league's round two matchup
  • The N.L. matchup will occur first, followed by the A.L. matchup, with N.L. 1 and A.L. 1 choosing if they want to hit first or second
  • Each participant will receive seven outs
  • The participant from each league with the most home runs will advance to the Finals

Round 4 (Finals)

  • The Semi-Final winners (one player from each league) will compete for the crown of Home Run Derby Champion
  • The batting order will be determined by a coin flip, which will be held at a meeting at home plate between the two finalists and their league captains (note that a finalist and team captain could be the same participant)
  • Each finalist will receive seven outs

Tiebreaker(s)

  • If two or more players are tied for advancement into the next round or for the championship, each player will receive three swings to hit as many home runs as possible. If they are still tied after three swings, they will each take one swing. This process is repeated if necessary until one player wins the swing-off.

**Note: Home runs are not cumulative and do not carry over from one round to the next**