MLB Home Run Derby reportedly to abandon the 2015-style clock and return to a swing-based format

MLB’s midsummer Home Run Derby is reportedly set for a rules reset. The 2026 competition is expected to return to a swing-based format for the first time since 2014, ending the timed-round structure that has governed the event since 2015, according to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Johnny Flores Jr., as relayed by Yahoo Sports.

The change matters because the Derby is as much a test of game-management as it is a pure slugfest. A clock-based system can change how hitters pace themselves, when they take full advantage of good pitches, and how they respond after a slow start. Moving back to a swing-based approach typically shifts the emphasis toward sustained at-bat rhythm and sequencing over strict time management.

In 2015, MLB introduced a clock to oversee timed rounds of the Home Run Derby. That framework has been the foundation of the event’s pace and structure for multiple editions since then. Now, the reported 2026 plan is to “turn back the clock” and say goodbye to the clock mechanism that arrived in that 2015 update.

The Home Run Derby is also one of the sport’s most visible showcases for power talent, with a broadcast footprint that depends on steady action. MLB has periodically adjusted the event over the years, and format changes can ripple outward beyond the cages, affecting how teams and hitters prepare and how fans experience each round. If the clock is removed, the total length of rounds, the tempo between swings, and the rhythm of television production could all be altered.

As this information is based on reporting, not an official MLB announcement included in the accessible material, readers should treat it as preliminary. For now, the clearest confirmed element in the public record provided here is the direction of travel, from the swing-based rules used in 2014 back to a swing-based format, reversing the 2015 timed-round model.

Still, the reported shift provides a useful lens for evaluating the kind of hitters the Derby may reward. Under a timed system, a hitter can be judged on conversion speed: can they turn the right opportunities into quick damage before the round ends. Under a swing-based system, the scoring pressure can feel more like an extended plate-appearance test, where staying locked in across multiple swings becomes the central skill.

For the next Derby cycle, teams will likely pay close attention to any additional details that typically accompany rules adjustments, such as the number of swings per round, how ties or overtime are handled, and whether progression criteria remain the same. Those mechanics determine how hitters strategize between pitches that look similar but behave differently off the barrel.

If the reported plan holds, 2026 will mark a notable stylistic return for the Derby, resetting a major procedural feature that has shaped the event since the last clock-free version in 2014. The biggest question to watch next is not just what format it becomes, but how MLB balances the competitive goals of the event with the live pacing that keeps it entertaining from first pitch to final swing.