Byron Buxton pulled aside Minnesota Twins third-base coach Tommy Watkins under the premise that he had some baserunning question, but that wasn't the real reason.
When he got Watkins alone, Buxton told him he had accepted an invitation to the Home Run Derby. The two of them shared tears, having worked together since 2013, the year after Buxton was drafted second overall by the Twins.
"Neither one of us really said anything," Watkins said in a phone conversation Sunday. "It was an emotional moment for both of us."
The eight sluggers swinging for the fences in Atlanta on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) are the stars of the Derby, but for each of them, it will be an experience shared with someone who has thrown round after round of batting practice to them at some point in their lives. A coach, a father, a stepfather, who must also cope with the high adrenaline of the event, under uncommon circumstances -- no batting practice shell, packed stands, concert-level sound, and a timer nudging them to work faster.
Most of the Derby contestants have practiced for this event in recent days. All will wield custom-made bats. Some have gotten advice, and some have thought through a strategy on how to handle the pace that will have them bent over with exhaustion, calling for a drink and a towel.
But as we've seen many times before, the Derby hitters can only be as good as those throwing to them today. Here's a quick look at the players competing -- as well as the ones pitching to them -- on Monday night.
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
2025 home runs: 17
Olson was the last entrant added to the field (in the past 96 hours). On Thursday, the Braves informed Major League Baseball that Ronald Acuna Jr. would not be able to participate because of a sore back, and shortly thereafter, MLB -- wanting to have a member of the home team in the competition -- contacted Olson's agent, B.B. Abbott, to see whether the first baseman was interested. Olson, who was born and raised in Atlanta, immediately said yes.
But Olson has been in the Derby before (2021), and he's the only contestant with past experience. Eddie Perez, the former catcher who has been a longtime coach with the Braves, will be on the mound for Olson, after years of throwing batting practice in this ballpark. He and Perez talked about going through a bit of a dry run over the weekend in St. Louis, but there just wasn't time.
Olson can lean into that past experience. "It's weird at first, because it's something you never do -- with no turtle [batting shell], a full stadium," he said over the phone Sunday. Typically, Olson might lean into one or two balls during batting practice to hit home runs, but he usually focuses on working the ball toward the middle of the field or over the shortstop. In the Derby, he'll be looking to hit more toward right-center and right field -- and as with other left-handed hitters, he might have an advantage in Truist Park because of the spacious left-center field. The left-handed hitters have a natural target in Truist Park, as well, which is like Atlanta's version of the Green Monster. "Right field has the Chop House," said Olson. "It looks cooler when it hits up there."
James Wood, Washington Nationals
2025 home runs: 24
Wood presented some ideas about what might be on his custom bats. A bat that pays homage to Mark McGwire, perhaps. Another with the cherry blossoms associated with the Nationals franchise. Perhaps a bat including a homage to "Call of Duty," a video game he loves to play. "I was struggling for ideas," he said, but Washington relief pitcher Derek Law helped spur his imagination. We'll soon see what he landed on.
Nationals third base coach Ricky Gutierrez, a former infielder known for the consistency of his arm in his playing days, will be throwing to Wood. Wood and Gutierrez had talked about the possibility of Wood participating in the Derby, and when Wood confirmed that his invitation was official and told the coach, Gutierrez replied, "Let's go." He has a smooth delivery, Wood said, with a little bit of arm-side run.
Another teammate, Josh Bell, participated in the Home Run Derby in 2019 and has been advising Wood through the practice rounds that Wood has gone through to take his time, and not do anything fancy.
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
2025 home runs: 23
Tomas Francisco, the major league field coordinator for the Rays, has experience in the Derby: Two years ago, he threw to Randy Arozarena in Seattle, when Arozarena moved into national prominence, advancing to the championship round against Vladimir Guerrero Jr. When Caminero got word that he was in the Derby, he quickly asked Francisco to be his guy on the mound. What has stood out to Francisco through the rounds of preparation the two of them shared -- most recently over the weekend, at Fenway Park -- was the consistency of Caminero's swing, and his endurance through the practice rounds.
"He is really excited about this," said Francisco. As Arozarena was back in 2023, Caminero might be the least known of the eight competitors, a natural byproduct of playing with the small-market Rays. But as this season has progressed, and Caminero has learned to handle inside pitches better and better, his power has manifested.
With all of the stimuli in play -- the sound, the screaming fans, the unusual visuals for the hitter and pitcher -- Francisco said, "I'm not going to say that I'm used to it." But Francisco does have the experience to understand how quickly the rounds move and the tendency for the competitors and the pitchers to accelerate when they don't necessarily have to speed up. "We all go too quick," Francisco said.
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
2025 home runs: 38
The major league leader in home runs was the first of this group to commit to the Derby, and he called his father, Todd, immediately with the news. "He was pretty jacked up, very excited," Raleigh said in a phone interview. "He's been ready for it. He's been getting his arm loose."
And in what is apparently a first, Cal's younger brother -- also named Todd -- will serve as the catcher; Cal got word from the Players Association that this request was approved. Team Raleigh will try to win the Derby together, something that father and son have discussed through the years, sometimes while watching the event together.
Raleigh has discussed the Derby with teammate Julio Rodriguez, and he and his father, a longtime coach, have had opportunities to practice the format together. Raleigh is a switch hitter, and like Adley Rutschman two years ago, he could take swings from both sides of the plate during the Derby. But Raleigh noted how Truist can favor left-handed hitters.
Raleigh's custom bats will -- not surprisingly -- have a Big Dumper theme. And there could be a Mariners' trident painted on them as well.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees
2025 home runs: 17
Geron Sands was still in bed in the Bahamas a week ago when Jazz Chisholm FaceTimed him, and Sands figured Jazz was just checking in, as he often does with his stepfather. But Chisholm had news. "Pops," Chisholm said, "you get your arm ready."
"Are you serious?" Sands replied, waking quickly as he realized that what the two of them had long discussed as a possibility was about to become a reality. Sands has been in Chisholm's life since he was 8 and has thrown batting practice to him ever since -- through high school, through the time the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him and later traded him to the Miami Marlins. Last offseason, Sands threw to Chisholm in the Don't Blink Home Run Derby in the Bahamas, with Sands understanding that Chisholm didn't want him throwing to anyone else in the competition.
Sands left his home in Nassau to go to Yankee Stadium, where he and Chisholm practiced. Sands has thrown batting practice for decades, he knows Jazz and his swing, but he has never thrown in front of a crowd like there will be in Truist Park Monday night. He knows it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and everyone in the Bahamas will be tuned in. There will be a watch party in Nassau, he said. "I don't think I'll be affected by it," Sands said in a reent phone conversation.
Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11 and 184 pounds, and he is the lightest of those in the field. But Sands took note of some of the balls that Chisholm blasted beyond the fence in Yankee Stadium during their practice. If you wear a blindfold and just listen to the sound of the ball crashing off one of Chisholm's swings, Sands said, you couldn't really tell the difference between Chisholm and much larger players. "You hit the ball like a big guy," Sands said to him.
Chisholm likes the ball thrown middle-down, middle-in, between the waist and the knees. And "he loves to hit in Atlanta," Sands said.
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
2025 home runs: 21
What Derby pitchers have said in the past is that the elimination of the batting cage for this event is an adjustment, because the perspective from the mound is so different. Instead, the pitchers work to the catchers, something Watkins believes will help him, because he'll just aim for the target out over the plate. During their practice sessions, the right-handed Buxton hit a ball in the upper deck in right field, and Watkins reminded Buxton that he doesn't necessarily have to hit everything in one direction, because of that power. "He is special," Watkins said.
Buxton, 31, was born and raised in a small Georgia town 215 miles from Truist Park, and he explained to Watkins why he wants to do the Derby. For his family. For his sons.
"I think he'll be amazing," Watkins said. "I hope I do OK."
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 home runs: 16
Stephen Morales is an assistant coach with the Pirates and serves as Cruz's translator and, often, his batting practice pitcher. "I get the honor of throwing to him," said Morales, "when he hits on the field, or in the cage."
Morales played seven years professionally, and like so many of those who throw the best batting practice, he was a catcher, with a short-arm motion that shapes his consistency. He and Cruz have gone through extensive preparation for this event, relative to some of the other competitors. They've gone through time rounds, through bonus time. "He's hit a few balls well over 425 feet," said Morales.
Some Derby sluggers like batting practice pitches inside, a little down, but Morales said that Cruz likes the ball "right down the middle. Maybe a little closer to him."
And Cruz has been operating with a secret weapon of sorts: He has been getting advice over the phone from Guerrero, the Derby champion two years ago, and someone who gave Teoscar Hernandez the pivotal advice last year to stop focusing on pulling the ball to left field and to use his more natural swing toward left-center field.
Brent Rooker, Athletics
2025 home runs: 20
Joe Caruso, a longtime coach for Rooker as he came up as an amateur player, will throw to the A's right fielder, something he continues to do in the offseason in Tennessee. Rooker and Caruso had discussed the possibility of being in the Derby in the past, as Rooker emerged as one of baseball's elite power hitters. Since the start of the 2023 season, only eight hitters have more homers in the big leagues than Rooker's 89. Two of them are in this Derby: Raleigh (102) and Olson (100).
"He's probably seen me hit in the cage more than anybody and has thrown to me more than anybody, so it should be a good relationship out there," Rooker told MLB.com. "Being able to make that call and tell him we're going to do it was pretty cool."