There’s a big push to get a Major League Baseball franchise awarded to Salt Lake City, and while that may be several years away, some prominent MLB players are coming to town this September.

The league has selected The Ballpark at America First Square in South Jordan as the final stop in the 2025 Home Run Derby X competition, where a new champ will be crowned following a two-day event Sept. 19-20. 

MLB Home Run Derby X is a new 3-on-3 baseball format built around power hitting and athletic catching. It combines the most exciting elements of the 9-inning game into a 30 minute format, specifically designed as a co-ed format that allows male and female athletes to compete together. 

Launched in 2022, the format has already demonstrated success in attracting new, younger, and more diverse audiences, including a significant increase in female fans. Home Run Derby X is part of MLB’s broader league-wide effort to expand access to baseball and softball and grow the game both domestically and globally.

This year’s competition was held in six cities starting in July, with the winning squads from those events invited to Utah vying for a $200,000 prize.

“We are thrilled to host the finals for MLB’s Home Run Derby X at our brand new ballpark,” Michelle Smith said, president of Miller Sports + Entertainment. “The Ballpark at America First Square is a world-class venue and we can’t wait to welcome baseball fans of all ages from across the state to watch these incredible athletes in action.” 

The MLB legends scheduled to participate combined for 47 All-Star Game appearances, 23  Silver Slugger Awards, 26 Gold Glove Awards, 12 World Series championships, one Roberto Clemente Award, one World Series Most Valuable Player Award, two batting titles, one Cy Young Award, one Most Valuable Player Award, one Rookie of the Year Award, and one Home Run Derby championship. These MLB legends include Rick Ankiel, Jake Arrieta, Lorenzo Cain, Michael Cuddyer, Ian Desmond, Jonny Gomes, Alex Gordon, Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard, Andruw Jones, Daniel Murphy, Manny Ramirez, Nick Swisher, Adam Wainwright, Ryan Zimmerman and Ben Zobrist. More MLB legends may be added. 

The MLB legends will once again be joined by current and former stars of collegiate softball and women’s baseball who have a combined 27 College World Series appearances, 16 National Championships and 17 First-Team All American selections. They include Jocelyn Alo, Reese Atwood, Jocelyn Erickson, Hannah Flippen, Kinzie Hansen, Alex Hugo, Tiare Jennings, Ashton Lansdell, Amanda Lorenz, Elizabeth Mason, Ali Newland, Jessica Oakland, Ella Parker, Kasidi Pickering, Sydney Romero, Taylor Schumacher and Katie Stewart.

HRDX is a Home Run Derby with defense. A single game takes about 30 minutes. Each player gets one at bat of two minutes thirty seconds. During an at bat the opposing team is in the outfield to make catches. Teams earn offensive points for home runs and defensive points for catches. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins. Bonus points are earned by hitting home runs through a centerfield target. During each at bat, batters can call for a hot streak of five swings where everything counts double. In the final minute of an at bat, batters can tag in a teammate to finish with a flourish. 

The competition has continued for several weeks, and who the finalists will be is still being determined. Fans can follow @homerunderbyx and visit mlb.com/homerunderbyx for more details.  

Tickets remain on sale at https://www.milb.com/salt-lake/events/home-run-derby-x