Pete Alonso praises MLB’s 2026 Home Run Derby format change, eyeing another run at the title

Pete Alonso knows what it takes to win the Home Run Derby, and he is already weighing the league’s plans for the next edition. The Orioles first baseman, a two-time Derby champion, reacted positively to MLB’s newly set 2026 format, saying, “I think it’s really smart.” The comment comes as Alonso prepares to add to a long list of Home Run Derby appearances that make him one of the event’s defining players of the current era.

Alonso’s connection to the Derby is not a brief one. He won the title in 2019 and again in 2021, giving him back-to-back proof that he can carry the event’s unusual pressure and still produce run after run. Between those championships, he built a reputation for consistent power in a setting designed to reward timing and volume more than any ordinary regular-season at-bat.

MLB’s event has also become a recurring stage for Alonso. According to the league’s release, he has been a participant in each Home Run Derby from 2019 through 2024, marking five straight appearances within that stretch. That matters because the Derby has grown into a high-profile showcase with a defined audience, and repeat qualifiers typically report not just raw power but also an ability to adapt his swing when the contest format changes year to year.

For the Orioles, Alonso’s presence in the Derby is also a reminder of the type of star impact MLB wants from its marquee events. Alonso spent the first seven seasons of his eight-year MLB career with the Mets before joining Baltimore, and his profile is built on slugging production that translates in both casual viewing and competitive postseason-level discussion. A Home Run Derby appearance, when paired with his regular-season role, becomes a way to keep attention on Baltimore’s offensive identity beyond the weekly box scores.

The 2026 format itself is the immediate storyline, even if Alonso’s comment was the headline. MLB has indicated the event will look different in 2026, and Alonso’s approval suggests the changes are intended to address how the contest unfolds, how players pace themselves, and how viewers follow the action as it progresses. While details of the format are not spelled out here, Alonso’s framing points to league planners making an adjustment they believe improves the competition and the viewing experience.

From a competitive standpoint, Alonso’s familiarity with the Derby structure is a practical advantage. Players who reach the event repeatedly often learn how to manage their energy in multiple rounds, handle variations in pitching approach, and respond when the pace of homers rises faster than expected. The benefit of being a known quantity is not that it guarantees the win, but that it reduces the uncertainty that can come with unfamiliar contest rhythms.

Looking ahead, the key question for the 2026 Home Run Derby is whether MLB’s format changes make the event more variable or instead amplify the same skill set Alonso has used to win before. With a two-time champion who has appeared in the event across the recent stretch, the league is effectively betting that star power plus format evolution can create something both recognizable and fresh. Alonso’s mindset, at least publicly, is that the change is an improvement, and his next appearance will show whether that belief holds under the Derby’s specific kind of spotlight.

For fans in Baltimore and across the sport, Alonso’s comments also set a clean expectation: he is treating the Derby as something more than a single-night diversion. It remains a test of power, but also a test of preparation and execution under a tournament-like structure. In 2026, with the event’s new rules shaping the path, the only real way to evaluate the league’s “smart” adjustment will be to see how it performs when the first swing counts.