Jose Ramirez will represent the Cleveland Guardians in a star-studded field at the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby. The action from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
WATCH LIVE FOR FREE: DirecTV Stream (free trial); Fubo.tv (FREE trial); Hulu + Live TV (FREE trial). Also, Sling TV has promotional offers.
Ramirez enters the Home Run Derby as the No. 5 seed, meaning he will go up against Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals in the first round. Check out this refresher of the derby rules before it starts on Monday night.
What: 2022 MLB Home Run Derby.
When: Monday, July 18, 2022.
Time: 8 p.m. Eastern.
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles (56,000).
TV: ESPN, ESPN2.
Live streams: DirecTV Stream (free trial); Fubo.tv (FREE trial); Hulu + Live TV (FREE trial). Also, Sling TV has promotional offers.
Cable channel finder: AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish, Verizon Fios, WOW.
See the full Home Run Derby bracket.
Read some of what Joe Noga of cleveland.com wrote about Ramirez’s inspiration for Monday night’s Home Run Derby.
There are plenty of reasons why a big league All-Star chooses to enter the home run derby, one of the jewel events of All-Star week.
Notoriety, the chance to prove yourself against the game’s biggest sluggers, an overwhelming competitiveness that burns deep within — all valid reasons, and José Ramírez is no stranger to any of them. But he’s also drawing motivation from a source that trumps all.
“I especially want to do it for my Mom,” Ramírez said Saturday via interpreter Agustin Rivero. “She wanted to see me there. In the past, obviously there were invitations but it really couldn’t happen. This year, it happened. I especially want to do it for my family.”
Ramírez, 29, turned down invitations in the past, saying he had reached a mutual decision with Cleveland to sit out the competition in 2018 and again in 2021. But after a first half this season that has seen him carry the Guardians offense with 17 home runs and a league-high 70 RBI through 89 games, there was no denying his spot in the competition.
Ramírez will finally compete on a stage against some of the game’s biggest sluggers, including two-time defending champion Pete Alonso. The prospect of swinging against baseball’s heavy hitters does not seem to intimidate Ramírez in the least.
“I mean, after all, we’re humans, we all have two arms and it’s a matter of being there in the competition and enjoying it,” he said. “If the results don’t come out, it’s just the satisfaction that you were there.”
But Ramírez won’t be alone when he steps to the plate Monday in Los Angeles. He’s bringing along his former rookie ball hitting coach, Junior Betances, to pitch to him on the big stage.
“He’s very excited,” Ramírez said. “It’s something that was a long time coming. It feels like kind of a little reward to him for everything he helped me through my career in the minors.”
Betances, currently the hitting coach at Double-A Akron, has spent 25 seasons as a player and coach in the Guardians organization. He said the invitation to join Ramírez and his family for All-Star festivities in LA was unexpected, and that he’s just looking forward to enjoying the moment.
“I just want to throw it right in the middle,” Betances said. “He’s the guy who has to hit. I have a lot of years in the sport. I think it’s the same as throwing BP. He’s the guy who has to put on the show.”
For team hats, shirts or other gear:
Visit Fanatics, Lids, Champs Sports, Dick’s Sporting Goods or New Era.
MLB Home Run Derby 2022 free live stream: How to watch, TV, bracket | Jose Ramirez - cleveland.com
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