The 2017 Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting contest in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. Since the inaugural derby in 1985, the event has seen several rule changes, evolving from a short outs-based competition, to multiple rounds, and eventually a bracket-style timed event. It is currently sponsored by T-Mobile, a wireless cellphone company.
The derby was first nationally televised by ESPN in 1993 on a same-day delayed basis, with the first live telecast in 1998. Although two hours were initially devoted to the telecast, it hasn't been uncommon for the program to run over schedule. The 2006 through 2008 events, for example, lasted nearly three hours. Since 2009, three hours are devoted to the event.
The 2017 Derby was the year's most highly rated basic cable program. Because of the game's TV popularity, invited players have felt pressure to participate. Notably, Ken Griffey Jr. initially quietly declined to take part in 1998, partly due to ESPN scheduling the Mariners in their late Sunday game the night before. After a discussion with ESPN's Joe Morgan and another with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Griffey changed his mind, and then won the Derby at Coors Field.
In Spanish the event is televised on Spanish language network ESPN Deportes.ESPN Radio also carries the event annually.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) contested between players from the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), currently selected by fans for starting fielders, by managers for pitchers, and by managers and players for reserves.
The game usually occurs on either the second or third Tuesday in July, and is meant to mark a symbolic halfway-point in the MLB season (though not the mathematical halfway-point which, for most seasons, is usually found within the previous calendar week). Both of the major leagues share a common All-Star break, with no regular-season games scheduled on the day before or the day after the All-Star Game itself. Some additional events and festivities associated with the game take place each year close to and during this break in the regular season.
No official MLB All-Star Game was held in 1945 including the official selection of players due to World War II travel restrictions. For a brief period in MLB history, players were named to the AL roster and NL roster for two All-Star Games held during the 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962 seasons, but this format was subsequently abandoned.