The all-star game home run competition in which Shohei Ohtani of the Major League Baseball Angels will participate will be held on the 12th and 13th of Japan time, and Otani will aim for the first victory from the first seed.
The Home Run Competition is an event held the day before the All-Star Game, in which eight of the major league baseball hitters compete in a tournament format for how many home runs they can hit within the time limit.
Otani, who will be the first Japanese player to participate, hit the top 33 home runs in both leagues in the first half of the game and became the first seed. In the first round, he will play against the young nationals slugger Soto.
In the home run competition, players are free to nominate pitchers and catchers, and some players nominate their families.
Otani has nominated Angels bullpen catcher Jason Brown as a pitcher and Ippei Mizuhara as an interpreter as a catcher, and I would like to connect to home run mass production with a breathtaking play.
Also, at the stadium in Denver, Colorado, which is the venue for this year, it is easy to hit the ball because of the high altitude, so it is worth noting that Otani, who is hitting his longest home run of 143 meters this season, will get an oversized one. Will be done.
The home run competition will be held on the 13th of Japan time, and NHK will broadcast on general TV from 9:05 am, and will be broadcast simultaneously on NHK Plus.
What is home run competition?
The Major League Baseball home run competition was held the day before the All-Star Game at an event that began in 1985, and past winners include Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, and other major league baseball hitters. It is in a row.
Since the All-Star Game was not held last season due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the home run competition will be held for the first time in two seasons.
Eight players compete in a one-on-one tournament to see how many home runs they can hit during their time, but it is not uncommon for players to decline due to fatigue, and this is Otani. Blue Jays' Guerrero Jr., who has hit 28 home runs next to the players, and Padres' Tatisse Jr. have declined.
Therefore, the rules have been changed, and the time control, which used to be 4 minutes, has been shortened to 3 minutes for the first round and semi-finals, and 2 minutes for the finals. Bonus time will be given.
Also, if you hit a home run with a flight distance of 144.7 meters or more, the bonus time will increase by another 30 seconds, and a colorful special ball will be used during the bonus time.
Considering the fatigue of the players, if the number of the second player exceeds the number of the first player, it will end at that point and the player can take a 45 second break during the competition.
If the same number is lined up, a 60-second tiebreaker will be held as overtime.
The winning prize is eight times higher than before from the adult home run competition, and is about 110 million yen in Japanese yen.