Last Updated: June 17th, 2026 by Michael Schatz
If you ask me, the Home Run Derby has lost a little of its luster. All the new rules and the tournament-style play don’t do it for me. There was nothing wrong with it before, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
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Today, we’re going to do a little something fun and take a trip down memory lane with the 1993 Home Run Derby. This classic took place at Camden Yards in Baltimore – which had opened just a year ago. This derby was stacked with some all-time greats, so let’s take it back to 1993…
First off, amazing opening graphics. This is are ’90s. I miss graphics like these.
This lineup is ridiculous – and every one of these guys looks prime ’90s.
Mike Patrick and Joe Morgan! There’s something about Joe’s voice that just says baseball. He was an all-time great.
Now we see Buck Martinez talking about guys trying to hit the warehouse behind right field. I’m proud to say I’ve hit that warehouse – when I was playing Ken Griffey Jr. presents Major League Baseball on Super Nintendo.
We’re about to start now and let’s remember the rules. Guys have 10 outs. Anything not a home run is an out. The guy with the most home runs at the end wins. Simple!
First up we have Dave Justice from the Braves. Mike Patrick tells us he has 20 home runs at the break. Not bad. But what is bad is this performance. Maybe the nerves got to him. Justice ends with only 2 home runs. That won’t cut it.
After some sponsor plugs and a shot of the Budweiser blimp, we’re told Albert Belle hit 3 home runs while we were away. So poor Albert Belle didn’t even get any airtime? They were ruthless back in the day.
Then we’re shown a quick highlight of Mike Piazza’s round. Why is it quick? Well, because he put up a zero.
I don’t know about you, but this is the way to go. Let’s breeze past the guys who didn’t do much so we can get to the real action. Bravo, ESPN producers.
We pick up with The Kid – Ken Griffey Jr. The sweetest left-handed swing ever. Period. End of discussion. Some of these balls are crushed. The Kid finishes with 7, our leader in the clubhouse.
Griffey tells Buck that he was nervous and “didn’t want to get shutout”. A shot at Piazza?
After another commercial, we’re back to the action with Bobby Bonilla highlights. We see him destroy one and hit the warehouse on a bounce. Bobby finishes with 5 dingers.
Juan Gonzalez steps up next, rocking classic ’90s hair. He’s been mashing the ball in the first half with 23 bombs, tied for second in the AL.
Juan is hitting bombs. And he looks so cool doing it.
He gets a standing O for his display, tying Griffey with 7.
A graphic gives us the updated standings – the AL is up 17 to 7 in total home runs, with Griffey and Gonzalez tied at 7. I smell overtime!
Barry Bonds is up next. He drills one to center, giving him 5. Are we on our way to a three-way tie?
Also, a side note – I’m missing the hoards of kids in the outfield running down every ball. Man, I always wanted to be one of those kids.
No magic for Barry as he finishes with 5.
Next up is one of the largest human beings ever – Cecil Fielder. Seriously, look how big he is!
He’s hitting some moonshots to center.
And look! A young Prince Fielder is there. I wonder if he ever went pro?
After another shot to center, Cecil taps out with 4 home runs.
It’s overtime now! Griffey and Gonzalez for the crown. Griffey is up first. They only have 5 outs this time.
Jr. starts out a little slow but then finds a groove.
And then he hits the warehouse! He should win. The derby should be over!
He finishes with 4 in overtime. Gonzalez needs 5 to win – although I think he should have to hit the warehouse twice to win but that’s me.
Juan hitting some shots here… he’s got a shot to win this.
But no! He finishes with 4. We have another overtime!
Juan starts the second OT. And they only have 3 outs this time. The drama!
These guys have to be tired at this point. No timeouts. They’re just swinging.
Juan finishes with 1 in double OT. Jr. has this. It’s in the bag…
There’s one out. No biggie.
Uh oh.
No! He jinxed himself and gets shutout! Juan Gonzalez wins the ’93 Home Rune Derby.
This was how you show a derby. Keep it tight, show the action, and skip the boring parts. And you still have all the tension and drama! I say bring it back! How do we start a petition?