Jordan Walker’s 6 Straight Homers Saved the Derby. MLB Might Keep the Format Anyway.

The 2026 Home Run Derby was weird in the best way. It didn’t look like any Derby from the last five years. The numbers were way down — 131 total home runs, compared to the average of 275 over the same span. But almost everyone who watched or played seemed to agree it was a better event.

The new format gave each hitter 20 swings in the first round, then 15 in the semis and final. No more rushing against a ticking clock. Batters could work through an at-bat, foul off pitches, even take a breath. And the winner, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Jordan Walker, took full advantage.

Walker needed six straight homers to close out Kyle Schwarber in the final. That’s not hyperbole. He had no outs left, no margin for error. So he hit six in a row. The crowd lost it. Schwarber stood on the field watching with his helmet off, just shaking his head.

Before the event, ESPN’s Jeff Passan had been skeptical. He thought the new format would drag and kill the energy. After watching it play out, he went on record saying he was a “moron” for doubting it. That’s about as honest as self-criticism gets in sports media.

Buster Olney shared the stat comparing this year’s total to previous Derbies, and the gap is massive. But context matters. Under the old timed format, guys were swinging at everything, often swinging through pitches they’d normally lay off. The result was more homers but less drama. This year, every swing felt like it meant something. When a hitter fouled a ball off, you felt the tension. When they connected, the ballpark erupted.

MLB hasn’t officially announced whether the new format is permanent. But the buzz inside the industry suggests it’s leaning that way. The players liked it. The broadcast — leaving aside the Netflix component, which has its own issues — was clean. The pace worked.

The All-Star Game was scheduled for Tuesday night, but the Derby already gave fans something to talk about. A lower-scoring event that somehow felt bigger than the record-breaking years before it. Maybe that’s the lesson. Sometimes less really is more.