The Big Lead

MLB Home Run Derby ratings are a smash; will ESPN bring the event 'back, back back'?

Popularity for the TV-friendly event bounced back, back, back to normal after a down year in 2024 but its future media home is undetermined.

By J.P. Hoornstra

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) during the 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park on Tuesday.
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) during the 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park on Tuesday. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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Cal Raleigh's victory in the annual MLB Home Run Derby on Monday offered ESPN a step in the right direction. The event drew an average audience of 5,729,000 viewers, up from 5,451,000 viewers in 2024, according to numbers reported by the Associated Press.

Exactly what direction ESPN goes with its MLB media rights package after this season is anyone's guess. It appeared headed off a cliff in February, when the league and the network announced they were opting out of their contract.

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Almost five months later, the fate of ESPN's MLB properties — including the Home Run Derby, Sunday Night Baseball, and a Wild Card playoff series — remains undetermined. Had the two sides opted in to the final three years of their contract, ESPN would have continued airing MLB games through the end of the 2028 season.

Whether Tuesday's ratings announcement nudges ESPN closer to bringing back the Derby on a new contract, or merely nudges MLB in the direction of a higher asking price, is also unclear.

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What is clear: the Derby remains one of the most TV-friendly baseball events on the calendar.

Raleigh isn't a household name — yet — but he leads all of MLB with 38 home runs through Sunday. No catcher has ever hit that many home runs prior to an All-Star break, a record Raleigh broke nearly a month ago. If the Seattle Mariners' backstop isn't a household name yet, he has another chance to become one in Tuesday's All-Star Game.

A cross-coastal matchup with Tampa Bay Rays rookie Junior Caminero for the Derby champinoship probably didn't hurt ratings, either. It's a fun event that will find a good home — somewhere — in 2026.

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