MLB Home Run Derby at Wrigley Field

About This Event

The night before the All-Star Game itself, Wrigley Field hosts the Home Run Derby — baseball's best power hitters taking batting practice with the whole sport watching, and a genuinely different atmosphere than the game the next night. It's only the second time in the Derby's history that it's been held at Wrigley.

The first time was 1990, the same year Wrigley last hosted the All-Star Game itself, and Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg — the hometown favorite — won it. Wrigley's ivy-covered brick and short porches down the lines make it a genuinely different kind of derby setting than the symmetrical modern stadiums the event usually visits; balls clearing the bleachers land on Waveland and Sheffield Avenues, where fans have been chasing home runs out of the park since long before this was ever a nationally televised event.

Worth knowing: like the All-Star Game itself, official ticket details and pricing haven't been announced yet — expect a lottery/travel-package system given the demand rather than a normal on-sale. Check mlb.com/all-star as the date approaches.