Live From MLB All-Star 2024: ESPN Adjusts Storytelling Approach To Meet New Rules at Home Run Derby ESPN's Phil Orlins: We thought the rules changes were absolutely necessary' By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, July 15, 2024 - 2:42 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
ESPN's midsummer tradition of broadcasting the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby (8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN2) has a unique challenge this year: telling the story of an event that is introducing a new format and scoring system.
Over the past few years, the pacing has grown so fast that, for many viewers, the event became difficult to follow. Multiple home-run balls in the air and the inability to truly appreciate each long ball led ESPN and the league to test out a new approach.
The 2024 MLB Home Run Derby takes place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.
For a brief primer on the format changes for this year's Home Run Derby, let's start at the top. In the first round, instead of the previous head-to-head bracket format, the four players with the most home runs will advance to the semifinals, where the top four will be seeded head-to-head knockout-style. The final round will consist of just 27 pitches.
MLB and ESPN collaborated on the rule changes to reduce the event's frantic nature of the past few years and to help make the action easier to follow on TV. Batters will be limited to three minutes and a maximum of 40 pitches in the first two rounds, which will move things along and keep multiple home-run balls from landing simultaneously, which led to the confusion for viewers.
We thought the rules changes were absolutely necessary, says ESPN VP, Production, Phil Orlins. It's still really fast. I mean, 40 pitches in three minutes is fast, but it's not out of control. I think we'll be able to talk about it and document each home run, each pitch, each swing. It still requires a split screen to be able to do that, and there's still going to be two balls in the air, but it had gotten so fast that there were not only two balls in the air but two balls landing at the same time. Which, even in the two-box [format], is tough to follow. It's hard to shoot the batter and shoot another box for the ball landing and have two balls landing in different places at the same time.
Karl Ravech returns as the voice of the Derby with analysts Eduardo P rez and Todd Frazier. Frazier, the 2015 Home Run Derby Champion, has called Little League World Series games for ESPN and debuts as Home Run Derby analyst.
On the production side are a few changes to the on-screen graphical presentation and a repositioning of some cameras inside Globe Life Field. ESPN is bringing 4DREPLAY technology to this year's Derby, positioning the multicamera system directly behind home plate, only 16 ft. or so from the batter. It's the closest ESPN has ever been able to get to the plate in a baseball scenario. The half-moon-shaped 4DREPLAY camera ring features 16 cameras.
It has had good successes for us, but it has its best successes when it works in close proximity, says Orlins, noting successful implementations of the tech on UFC fights and at the Little League World Series. In the latter, ESPN was able to position the cameras in the front row behind home plate, about 30 ft. from home. Being about to get even closer here for the Home Run Derby is an exciting prospect: That's just game-changing - getting down there, spinning, and getting great shots.
Here's a 4DREPLAY clip from the MLB Korea Series at the start of this baseball season:
--
Other speciality cameras are deployed as well. The two-point cabled DEFY DactylCam is installed at Globe Life Field. ESPN's internal drone group is here but able to fly only outside the roofed stadium.
In addition, Orlins notes, the production team is moving the manned high-home positions higher in the ballpark and adding some down-the-line shots to better diversify the images that producer Scott Matthews and director Doug Holmes can take.
It's a challenge to follow the ball [in the Home Run Derby], says Orlins. We've gone with two or three high-homes side-by-side this year. We decided to go with equally high positions down-the-line to make the cuts from one [ball in the air] to the other - that happens fairly quickly - not look as jarring. Having down-the-line is a little change so the shots don't look so identical.
Here awaiting implementation at the 2024 MLB Home Run Deby, the 16-camera 4DREPLAY system will be deployed behind home plate.
It's clearly a year of thoughtful experimentation and tinkering for the operations team: Remote Operations Manager Paul Horrell, Remote Operations Specialist Kevin Cleary, and Project Manager Carla Ackels. Additionally, Director of Production Jim Thomas plays a key role in the show.
Returning this year to the broadcaster's Home Run Derby coverage is the Statcast edition airing on ESPN2 alongside the traditional broadcast. It features more graphics and a stats-heavy presentation with hosts Kevin Brown, Jessica Mendoza, and Mike Petriello. The Statcast alternative broadcast is overseen by producer Andy Jacobson and director Mike Griffin. ESPN's Will Gairing, Joe Durante, and Tyler Churchill play key roles in data integration on both broadcasts. Meanwhile, Major League Baseball is also heavily involved in the alternative feed, with assistance from MLB SVP, Broadcasting, Ryan Zander; VP, Technical Operations and Broadcasting, Mark Ellinson; Senior Technical Manager Kyle Burke; and Product Manager Simon Chattington.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...
07/04/2026
Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
Live From MLB All-Star 2024: ESPN Adjusts Storytelling Approach To Meet New Rules at Home Run Derby ESPN's Phil Orlins: We thought the rules changes were absolutely necessary' By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
