St. Louis Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker produced a remarkable late comeback to win the 2026 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, defeating Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber 12-11 in a thrilling final. The 24-year-old secured the title by hitting home runs on the final four pitches he faced, earning the $1 million winner’s prize.
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Schwarber, who leads Major League Baseball with 32 home runs this season, made an impressive start by hitting 10 home runs during his 15 regulation pitches. He also earned an extra attempt with a final regulation home run and added another blast, setting a challenging target of 11 home runs for Walker.
Walker responded strongly after falling three home runs behind before his final regulation swing, leaving himself with a difficult task. He launched a home run on his last regulation pitch and then cleared the fence with all three extra attempts, completing an outstanding comeback to capture the Derby crown.
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Earlier in the competition, Walker defeated Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 6-5 in the semi-finals after converting six of his eight swings into home runs. Meanwhile, Schwarber edged Boston’s Wilson Contreras 9-8 to book his place in the championship round following another powerful batting display.
The Home Run Derby took place in Philadelphia ahead of the 96th Major League Baseball All-Star Game and featured revised rules that replaced time limits with a fixed number of pitches. Several notable players, including Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, did not participate because of injuries, while Bryce Harper, Munetaka Murakami, Jac Caglianone and Ben Rice were eliminated before the final rounds.