Jordan Walker hit a walk-off home run to defeat Kyle Schwarber 12-11 and win Monday’s 2026 Home Run Derby, MLB said. The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder delivered the final blast into the left-field seats as his parents watched, Fox News Digital reported.
MLB introduced a new format for the event in which all eight contestants received 20 swings to hit as many home runs as possible, and a final swing that results in a homer allows the batter to continue until a non-homer, the league said. The format removed a clock and distance-based tiebreakers, MLB added.
Boston’s Willson Contreras set an early mark with 13 homers in 20 swings, and Walker matched that total to advance, according to MLB. Other first-round totals reported by MLB included Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone with eight, Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami with nine, Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero with 12 and New York’s Ben Rice with seven.
In the semifinals, MLB said Schwarber hit nine of 15 swings to beat Contreras, while Walker edged Caminero 6-5 to reach the final. Schwarber hit 11 of 15 swings in the championship round, and Walker responded with a late surge that included a final moonshot to left field to seal the victory, MLB reported.
Fox News Digital noted Walker entered the derby tied for 10th in MLB with 22 home runs this season and was hitting .294 with 74 RBIs for the Cardinals going into All-Star weekend.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
