New format for Home Run Derby (8 ET, ESPN)

Old: 10 outs per batter per round
New: 7 outs per batter per round

Old: Total of 8 participants, 3 rounds
New: Total of 10 participants, 4 rounds

Old: Home runs are cumulative after first two rounds
New: All batters start afresh in every round

Old: Top 4 qualify from first round, top 2 from second round
New: Bracket format explained below

The participants this year are:
AL: José Bautista, Yoenis Céspedes, Josh Donaldson, Brian Dozier, and Adam Jones
NL: Troy Tulowitzki, Todd Frazier, Justin Morneau, Yasiel Puig, and Giancarlo Stanton

After the first round, the top 3 from each league advance to the second round.

In the second round, the two matchups are: AL 2 vs. AL 3, and NL 2 vs. NL 3. The top seed from each league has a bye through to the third round.

In the semifinals (the third round), the two remaining AL batters and two remaining NL hitters face off against each other for a spot in the final, in which the last two will battle it out for the title of home run king.

Both the old and new formats require a total of 140 outs (barring walkoffs) to complete. With a total of 20 batter-rounds this year as opposed to only 14 in the past, however, expect more commercial breaks and an overall longer Home Run Derby. It is possible though that there will be more walkoffs than years past since beginning in the second round, batters are only competing against one other hitter at a time. This may lessen the effect of the added commercial breaks, but the Derby will still certainly last longer. It is ridiculous that ESPN has allotted 2 hours for this event when it will definitely exceed this limit. It is similar to the Oscars' always allotting 3 hours on ABC even though the planned schedule for the event is longer than three hours. If you plan to DVR the event, make sure you extend your recording.

The 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby can be seen live on ESPN at 8 ET. It can also be streamed on espn3.com or the WatchESPN app.