Major League Baseball really went out on a limb when it decided to change the rules for this year’s Home Run Derby. The first rule change was the Derby's new bracket-style competition pitting one-on-one match-ups in succession based on seeding. The seeding depended on total home runs hit so far in the season. This was an interesting decision because the old format would have the top four home run hitters of the first round move on and then the top two of that round advancing to the finals. 

The bracket style was fun to watch because it ended up just being a series of one-on-one contests, which made it exciting for the fans. It was also better for the players because they had to worry about beating only their immediate opponents rather than the rest of the field. 

Fans who were able to watch or at least catch the recap of the Home Run Derby Monday night may have noticed that the second hitter of each round had a huge advantage. The advantage was that the second hitter knew how many home runs he had to hit and what pace he needed to go with. The hitter with more home runs in the regular season earned that advantage.

Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols used the advantage when he slowed down at the end of his first round, caught his breath, and then slammed two more home runs to beat the Chicago Cubs' Kris Bryant.

The only round that the second hitter did not win was in the second semifinal between Pujols and Joc Pederson. The reason for that was because Pujols lost the grip on his bat as his top hand kept slipping off, and he could not get more pine tar because he had already used his timeout. 

The timeout was also a great addition, but that was because of the genius idea of timing each round. Each hitter got four minutes to hit as many home runs as he could, and it worked out perfectly. It made it much more exciting because players had to swing their bats and could not just wait for the perfect pitch as they could in recent years. Therefore, if a player got tired at some point, he was able to use his 45-second timeout to calm himself down and get under control. 

The timed format was also great because it put the pressure on the pitchers. Each pitcher had to be consistently perfect so that his teammate could get the most swings possible in a round. The winner, Cincinnati's Todd Frazier, was able to swing the bat over 30 times in each of his rounds, because his brother Charlie would hold five baseballs at a time, which proved itself a great strategy.

There may be some re-adjustments needed in the future to make it fairer for the first hitter, but for the most part, Major League Baseball got it right Monday night. The 2015 Home Run Derby was one of the best that fans have seen in years, and it was loaded with plenty of excitement and drama. Good job, MLB.