Phillies’ Bryce Harper pitches aluminum bats for final round of the Home Run Derby

If there’s anything that became clear with this year’s edition of the Home Run Derby, it’s that the MLB is not afraid to switch things up. With Netflix gaining broadcast rights of the derby, they consulted MLB players and executives regarding potential rule changes — all of which seemed to work as far as bringing the excitement back to the competition goes.

(For example, they removed the clock and gave the participants a finite amount of swings per round.)

They might want to give Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper a listen with his idea for innovating the derby.

Harper continued to pitch his idea to MLB to allow hitters to use aluminum bats in the final round of the Home Run Derby in what could be a very cool showcase of just how far they could hit balls out of the park.

“I really hope they bring me aluminum bats. That would be incredible. It’d be insane though. I mean, it would be pretty electric,” Harper said, via On Pattison. “I still think it’d just be an incredible thing to happen. I like to see a lot of those guys out there swing with aluminum bats, see what it’s all about.”

Bryce Harper isn’t ready to give up on his dream of aluminum bats for the final out of each round in the Home Run Derby. pic.twitter.com/wQEB8OrDzc

— OnPattison (@OnPattison) July 14, 2026

MLB, of course, would never green light such a thing. The use of aluminum bats would make a the ballpark a more dangerous place for fans to go to, as balls would fly out of the park at speeds that could legitimately put someone in peril.

Perhaps this would work in a pre-filmed setting, creating something that would be released on social media. There would be no fans in the stands (that should go without saying), but even then, it would be a sight to behold to see these sluggers test the limits of what they’re capable of.

The Phillies star, of course, has already won a Home Run Derby, so it’s not as if he still has something to prove in this competition. But his idea to innovate the competition is not entirely devoid of merit.

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