CLL Home Run Derby Guidelines
Updated May 2025:
The annual Home Run Derby is one of the most exciting events of the season! The winner receives a $100 prize, a trophy, and eternal glory by having their name added to the Home Run Derby Champion sign on Field 1.
It is imperative that any home runs your players hit are recorded on the league website. We don’t want a player who should have qualified to miss out because a home run wasn’t reported. If you're not sure if you made it, check the home run club page. To give everybody as much chance as possible, the time by which you can qualify will be the start of the Home Run Derby which is currently scheduled for 2:00pm on May 17th. This means that home runs hit in all city tournament games will count towards qualifying for the Home Run Derby.
The entire Home Run Derby event is broken down into 3 rounds. ANY PLAYER WHO HITS AN OUT OF THE PARK HOME RUN IN ANY DIVISION IS ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE HOME RUN DERBY. Please note that no “in the park home runs” count in the context of qualifying for the Home Run Derby.
Each year, the league president and Home Run Derby coordinator will also determine the number of home runs necessary to skip the first round and go straight to the second round of the derby. In some years, where there are relatively few home run hitters on the season (typically 12 or less), the number of home runs needed to skip the first round can be set to 1 and the Home Run Derby will consist only of the second and final rounds. For 2025, any MAJORS player who has hit two (2) home runs or more will get an automatic berth to the second round of the Home Run Derby and not have to participate in the first round.
Due to the difference in pitching speed and level of skill in the major vs. lower divisions, no minors and lower division players can automatically qualify for the second round, and instead will be entered into the first round of the derby.
First Round: All minors and below players, as well as all majors player who have not hit the necessary number of home runs to receive an automatic birth to the second round of the Home Run Derby (which for 2025 is 2 home runs) shall participate in the first round of the derby. Each player competing in the first round is given 5 outs. Hitting a single home run before your 5 outs are up qualifies you to move on to the second round. For this reason, once a player hits a home run in the first round, they are done and on to round 2.
Second Round: This round contains those players who have received an automatic birth into the second round, as well as those that have qualified by hitting a single home run in the first round of the derby. Each player competing in the second round is given 10 outs. If there are 7 or less players in the second round, the top 3 home run hitters in the second round will advance to the final round. If there are 8-9 hitters in the second round, the top 4 home run hitters in the second round will advance to the final round. If there are 10 or more hitters in the second round, the top 5 home run hitters in the second round will advance to the final round. Under no circumstances can a player (or players) advance to the final round without hitting a home run in the second round.
Final Round: The main event where the top 3-5 scoring players from the second round compete for the title of “Home Run Derby Champion.” The top 3-5 scoring players from the previous round will get 10 outs to hit as many home runs as possible. The player scoring the most home runs will be crowned “Home Run Derby Champion” and their name and the number of home runs hit in the final round of the derby will be added to the Home Run Derby champion sign at College Park. In case of a tie, the league President and Home Run Derby coordinator will choose some home run-like way to break the tie. The decision of the league President and Home Run Derby coordinator is final.
In all rounds:
- An out is a swing that results in something other than a home run.
- Players can choose their own pitchers.
- Pitchers must throw overhand (no soft toss or underhand flips) from either a standing, sitting (using a chair), or “on a knee” position.
- Batters must stand within the batter’s box.
- Any little league-approved baseball bats (bearing the USA Baseball stamp) can be used.
- A player’s home run count resets in ALL rounds (i.e. home runs are not totaled across all rounds). Only the player hitting the most home runs in the final round is the winner.