The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. A "home run" in the context of the competition, consists of hitting a baseball in fair territory out of the playing field on the fly. It differs from a home run hit during legal gameplay in that the batter is not competing against a pitcher and a defensive team attempting to make an out. In the Home Run Derby, all pitches are purposefully thrown slowly and at a closer range than the official 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m) distance, usually by a coach behind a pitching screen. In addition, like batting practice, the batter remains in the batter's box after each swing, and does not run, nor circle the bases to score a run.
The batter also does not have to conform to the usual league uniform standards, and as all pitches are tossed in the strike zone without any threat of beanballs, may choose to wear a regular baseball cap instead of a batting helmet. As the event traditionally takes place at sunset where the sun is of no factor to the batter, they can choose to wear their hat casually and backwards.
Since the inaugural derby in 1985, the event has seen several rule changes, evolving from a short outs-based competition, to multiple rounds, and eventually a bracket-style timed event.
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