I'm about half and half on the new format.
Love that the second batter can stop when he has defeated the other one in his bracket.
Love the timeout that can be called in the middle of a 4 minute round. A quick drink and energy recharge for the big finish.
Hate that someone who hit has to go again quickly (Joc was screwed in the final because he did his final round hitting essentially right after he beat Pujols). I know MLB wants to force drama by Frazier going second, but Frazier should have gone first since he had the most rest. The rule should be tweaked for semifinals/finals in future derbys that the one with the most rest goes first so that someone like Joc can catch his breath and recharge the batteries a little bit between rounds.
Hate that the first one has to put out maximum effort to establish the score (i.e. can't shut it down and save energy knowing that the score is good enough like the second batter can).
Hate Chris Berman is still calling it and there were even moments when his on-air cohorts became lame running with a Berman schtick. Even hate ESPN this year for actually producing it after one of their lower third's during the derby. No **** sherlock that the HR derby this year featured the most homers since 2005. FOX and ESPN should switch off as I think ESPN has become quite complacent in their coverage and maybe some variety in broadcaster will spice things up for the viewer who watches year in and year out.
Hate the bonus round. I think 4 minutes was plenty of time to come up with a score.
Hate that you have to wait for a batted ball to land before taking the next shot. If someone wants to increase their batted ball totals per 4 minutes, let them go for it if they and their BP pitcher have the stamina!
Hate that Statcast was not as featured on the telecast as it should be. With all the sensors and immediate access to info, there should have been a lot more live-time statcast info on the screen than pretty much just the HR distance.
