The annual Home Run Derby often brings MLB's best sluggers together to prove who's the best in the game. However, not every big hitter partakes in the All-Star festivity.
This year, the Derby participants are Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
Missing from the group, however, are Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, who have 34 and 31 home runs this season, respectively. Two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets also declined an invitation.
Those three players all have one thing in common: They've competed in the Derby in previous years. Other top sluggers can't say the same.
Here's a look back at notable players with the most homers since 2000 who never participated in the Home Run Derby.
Adam Dunn, 462 home runs
Across a 13-year playing career, the two-time All-Star never participated in the Derby. He smashed at least 40 homers from 2004 to 2008, but didn't budge on the annual event. Dunn's 462 total is the sixth highest since 2000.
Dunn, however, did partake in some less official home run hitting competitions with a teammate: Hall of Famer and three-time Derby winner Ken Griffey Jr.
"No, I never [participated in the Derby]. But Junior and me did it every day. We would take the last two rounds and play a game and do all that kind of stuff. We tried to make it fun, man," Dunn told ESPN in 2017. "He was 'First Row Ken.' Every ball he hit would be in the first row. I think he wound up owing me about 17 or 18 paychecks."
Adrian Beltré, 455
The Hall of Fame third baseman exuded all-around greatness, as one of just four players to record 400 homers and 3,000 hits while also boasting at least five Gold Gloves. Beltré had special power, too.
He had five seasons with at least 30 home runs, including a league-high 48 in 2004. But Beltré didn't go to the Derby even as a four-time All-Star. He expressed reluctance about the competition in 2012.
"I don't like it ... I don't think I'm good enough for it," Beltré said.
Edwin Encarnación, 424
Encarnación had a remarkable stretch from 2012 to 2019, smashing at least 30 home runs for a total of 297. His best campaigns came in 2012 and 2016, when he had 42 homers each, the latter leading to his final All-Star appearance.
Encarnación had a chance to compete in the 2014 Derby, with teammate Jose Bautista in charge of selecting the American League team. Bautista said that Encarnación simply "doesn't want to do it."
Mike Trout, 395 (and counting)
Trout burst onto the scene in 2010 as one of the game's most consistent sluggers. Yet he has consistently denied the Derby invitation, even though he said in 2019 that the MLB asks him "every year."
"Maybe one year I'll say to myself, 'Hey, let's do it,'" Trout said in 2019. "I'm obviously a big fan of watching it. It's just what it is. I enjoyed watching it as a kid, thought it was cool. I just never really wanted to do it."
The Los Angeles Angels star said then that he simply prefers to maximize time spent with his family during the break.
Joey Votto, 356
The former MVP and six-time All-Star said in 2017 that he thought he could win the Derby if invited. He also clarified that the only way he'd participate is if he was voted as an All-Star in the same year.
Votto got his wish that year, making the All-Star team, then receiving an invitation. But he declined to participate, saying, "it's a style of hitting that I never do."