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Matt Chapman will compete in 2019 Home Run Derby

All-Star week is getting more interesting every day for Oakland A’s fans.

By Alex Hall
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Oakland A’s have two players representing them in the 2019 All-Star Game on Tuesday, and now their fans will have something to watch on Monday as well. Matt Chapman has been selected to join the Home Run Derby, as a last-minute replacement for Christian Yelich of the Brewers.

The Derby will begin at 5:00 p.m. PT on Monday, televised on ESPN.

Chapman leads the A’s with 21 homers this year, and that total ties him for 16th in the majors and sixth in the AL. He’s already nearly matched his career-high of 24 from last summer. Yelich, who leads the majors with 31 dingers and made headlines with his impressive Derby prep last week, is pulling out due to a back injury.

Oakland’s 26-year-old third baseman joins a field that includes the following players (2019 homer totals in parentheses):

  • Ronald Acuna, ATL (21)
  • Pete Alonso, NYM (29)
  • Josh Bell, PIT (27)
  • Alex Bregman, HOU (23)
  • Matt Chapman, OAK (21)
  • Vlad Guerrero Jr, TOR (8)
  • Joc Pederson, LAD (20)
  • Carlos Santana, CLE (19)

The 2019 Derby is set up in a bracket format, split into three rounds in single-elimination fashion. In the first round, Chapman will square off against Guerrero, and if he wins that matchup then he’ll move on to face the winner of Bregman vs. Pederson. If he wins that, then he’ll advance to the finals against one of the other four names on that list. The overall champion takes home a $1 million prize, which is nearly twice Chapman’s 2019 salary. Click here to see the full bracket.

Since 2015, hitters no longer receive a set number of “outs” to work with in each round, but rather get four minutes to hit as many homers as possible. They are allowed to stop that clock for a timeout (and can do so twice in the final round), and they can earn extra time by hitting especially long dingers. Click here for the full rules.

The last time the A’s were represented in the Home Run Derby was in 2014, when Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Donaldson took part. Cespedes won the whole thing that year, for the second summer in a row after also capturing the 2013 edition. Here’s the full list of A’s who have competed in the event since it began in 1985:

  • Jose Canseco (‘86, ‘90)
  • Mark McGwire (‘87, ‘90, ‘92, ‘96, ‘97)
  • Ruben Sierra (‘94)
  • John Jaha (‘99)
  • Jason Giambi (‘01)
  • Yoenis Cespedes (‘13, ‘14)
  • Josh Donaldson (‘14)
  • Matt Chapman (‘19)

Of that group, McGwire won in 1992, followed by Cespedes’ two victories in 2013 and 2014. Since 2014, the winners have been Todd Frazier (‘15, CIN), Giancarlo Stanton (‘16, MIA), Aaron Judge (‘17, NYY), and Bryce Harper (‘18, WAS).

One notable omission from the A’s list above is Khris Davis, who’s hit more homers than anyone in the majors since 2016. However, his absence the last couple years appears to be by his own choice, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle.

Slusser also notes that Chapman’s father, Jim, will serve as his pitcher in the Derby. Here are a few tweets with related quotes and other info.

Congrats to Chapman on a well-deserved selection, and best of luck in the event on Monday! Then on Tuesday, both Chapman and reliever Liam Hendriks will suit up for the American League in the All-Star Game, at 4:30 p.m. PT on Fox.

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