Major League Baseball is evolving, and the Fort Wayne TinCaps are part of an event that could shape how the game engages its fans.

For a game that’s as rich in history and tradition as it is, MLB is deep in innovation and re-imagining. 

Fort Wayne will play a role in developing Home Run Derby X, a four-city tour that kicks off Saturday, Aug. 10, at Parkview Field.

Tickets are $12 and available at TinCaps.com

The other sites include triple-A ballparks in Nashville, Tennessee; Albuquerque; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

More than dingers

For HRDX, consider a traditional home run derby with sluggers blasting long bombs to the fences. 

However, this has new rules and twists, like a four-team, 3-on-3 contest, while also giving a nod to top softball and women’s baseball talent. Toss in a few young local baseball talents and a new emphasis on defense, and you have HRDX.

The event has been tested in a few locations internationally and in the U.S. the past couple of years.

The event is an effort to make the game relevant and fan-friendly. 

Fort Wayne TinCaps President Mike Nutter said rule changes MLB has made like increasing the size of bases, implementing a pitch clock, and limiting pick-off throws are significant steps at modernizing the game.

“Major League Baseball is doing well with rule changes,” Nutter said. “(HRDX) is a chance for people to get up close and personal. The players know what they’re getting into. They will greet fans at the gate and pose for selfies.”

What to expect

Each of the four HRDX teams features a former MLB star, a women’s baseball or softball player, and a yet-to-be-named local ballplayer. 

One team will be called the TinCaps with the other three bearing the names of the franchise’s alternate identities: The Daises, Manzanas de Luchadores, and Hoosier State Tenderloins.

Another objective is to make it local. 

“One of the cool things is that every team has a player with a sort of local connection,” Nutter said about local players being included on the teams, as well as high school players filling in at catcher.

Points will be awarded for home runs, with some unique opportunities to tally extra points. 

So, instead of just blasting long balls, there is a premium on defense. If a fielder snags a catch, they get points instead of the batter.

Starting lineups

Fort Wayne’s competition will include former MLB players Carlos Gomez, Dexter Fowler, Jake Arrieta, and Nick Swisher.

Fans of the Chicago Cubs will remember Arrieta and Fowler for their role in the 2016 World Series championship team, snapping the franchise’s 108-year drought. 

Along with being a Cub and hitting the leadoff homer run in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, Fowler spent time with Colorado, Houston, St. Louis, and the Los Angeles Angels before retiring in 2021.

Arrieta won the 2015 National Cy Young and a Silver Slugger as the top-hitting pitcher in the game. Along with the Cubs, he played 12 seasons in the majors for Baltimore, Philadelphia, and San Diego. 

Gomez spent 13 seasons in the majors, going to back-to-back all-star games with Milwaukee.

Swisher had stops with Oakland, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, Toronto, and Atlanta. He was part of the 2009 World Series championship Yankees’ season.

Former Boston Red Sox player Jonny Gomes will also be a part of the proceedings, serving as the Designated Hype Man.

Jocelyn Alo, Alex Hugo, Ashton Lansdell, and Paige Halstead will comprise the softball/women’s baseball spots. 

Alo holds the NCAA record for homers in college softball and was part of two Women’s College World Series teams at Oklahoma.

Hugo was named USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year in 2023 and 2024. 

Lansdell, like Hugo, was part of the U.S. women’s national baseball team that won gold at the 2024 World Cup. 

Halstead helped UCLA win the 2019 Women’s College World Series. 

Making strides in Fort Wayne

The game should be exciting for fans.

“We’ve never had anything like this before,” Nutter said. “We’re going to do fireworks after because we love fireworks. We’re going to do thousands of rally towels. And if you’re not a huge fan of one player, but you randomly got the ‘Tenderloin’ towel, that night you’re pulling for Swisher and Hugo (who will be on the Tenderloins team).”

Nutter said MLB has worked to be significant in Fort Wayne. 

“They are also trusting the TinCaps with marketing and game administration,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot from Major League Baseball. Their marketing is brilliant, and hopefully we’re teaching them a little about how things work in Indiana.

“They’ve been so great to work with. They said, ‘This is your ballpark. This is your market. We will do a lot of the stuff, but we want you to tell us what ticket prices should be.’ They are working to establish a concept that it is not a cash grab.”