The fourth annual Arizona Fall League (AFL) home run derby is scheduled for Saturday, October 8 beginning at 6:35 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Fans attending the event will be treated to the Bowman Hitting Challenge.

The event was born and raised by Bowman Baseball Cards back in its inaugural season in 2013. The 2016 event is now sponsored by Bowman, as well as Rawlings, Avis/Budget car and truck rentals, and Big AZ Promotions.

To call it a home run derby is perhaps a misnomer although home runs are certainly important in the final tally in the contest. However, the challenge is to do much more than hit home runs.

The Bowman hitting Challenge features 30 young sluggers, one from each of the 30 MLB organizations participating in the Arizona Fall League.

Like the MLB all-star home run derby the hitters face live pitching but unlike the annual slugfest prior to the MLB all-star game the home run is not the be all and end all. The contest includes some twists and turns as well as other opportunities for the hitters apart from the home run. In theory, at least, the contest could be won without hitting a home run although that might be most unusual.

The competitors, unlike the hitters in the MLB home run derby which is based on an out-count, are on a very limited time clock. Each hitter has two minutes in a batting practice setting not only to hit home runs but to hit balls at targets each of which have different point values. Each batter is required to bunt the first four pitches at strategically placed infield targets for points, followed by swinging away during the balance of the two minutes. After the two-minute period, the hitter will take one last swing at a “Bowman Bonus Ball” placed on a hitting tee at home plate, good for double point values should any target be hit. Any time a player hits a foul ball, 50 points is deducted from his total score. The player with the highest point total from an American League organization and from a National League organization will each win a cash prize. The overall winner will be the hitter, regardless of league, that accumulates the most points.

San Diego Padres outfield prospect (and latest Dodger killer) Hunter Renfroe went deep four times during the 2015 Bowman Hitting Challenge. (Photo credit – Jason Wise)

The hitting targets include:

• Bunting targets
• Bowman oversized baseball trading card targets (3)
• Eye Promise Batter’s Eye
• Moving human sphere (Zorb ball)
• Pepsi Power Alley triangle
• Rawlings Factory Store ball bucket pyramids
• Sports Chalet trampoline (jumping outfielder)
• Title Boxing inflatables sponsored (3)
• Zinger Bats vertical bat targets

Perhaps one of the best twists in the Bowman Hitting Challenge is fan involvement. When targets are struck by batted balls, fans in the stands have the chance to win prizes. These prizes include baseball cards, gift bags, autographed items, event tickets, gift cards from area merchants and Arizona Fall League merchandise and tickets. Once inside the gates of Salt River Fields, fans pick up their entry in the Lucky Number Booth and are then entered for a chance to win a prize as targets on the field are struck by the various players.

Catcher Peter O’Brien was the overall winner of the inaugural Bowman Hitting Challenge in 2013 with 1,575 points. O’Brien, now in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, explained his approach following the competition.

“I pretty much tried to keep my same approach from [batting practice] — stay to the middle of the field and drive the ball,” O’Brien said. “It looks so easy at first, but all the targets are hard and I feel like you should try to hit the ball hard and if you hit anything, you’re lucky.”

Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager represented the team in 2013 and responded with 1,050 points including a monster shot on his last swing.

Third baseman Hunter Dozier, selected by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, has set the high water mark for the challenge with his 3,150 points in 2014, just edging out outfielder Max Kepler of the Twins by 100 points. Dozier won on his last swing which was hit off the tee.

“That was worth the most points. It’s tough,” said Dozier of hitting the bonus ball off the tee with his final swing. “You’re a little nervous. You’re trying to just make sure you make contact with the ball. I was just trying to get it close to the inflatable ball, and hopefully it would hit it. And it did.”

In last year’s competition the Dodgers Jacob Scavuzzo emerged as the overall winner. He too came out on top on his last swing off the tee with its double score. Although he was tied for the lead with Marlins prospect outfielder Austin Dean, Scavuzzo was declared the winner as he hit a 400-point target on that last swing.

During the challenge Scavuzzo scored a 50-point bunt hit, a 200-point home run and a 300-point home run. He also hit two balls off the 300-point Bowman cutout in the infield, a 700-point knockerball in the outfield and the final 800-point shot off the inflatable target in right field.

The 21-year-old outfielder not only came away a winner in the competition, he thoroughly enjoyed the competition and the more novel approach to displaying hitting skills.

“It’s great to meet all these guys. They’re the best prospects in the game,” he said. “We’re all really competitive. We were trying to win this thing from the start.”

“It was a little different,” Scavuzzo said. “I’ve never really been in anything like this before, with all the targets on the field and trying to hit the ball to different parts of the field and get more points for it. It’s not just a normal, traditional home run derby. I really enjoyed it.”

Dodgers outfield prospect Jacob Scavuzzo was the overall winner of the 2015 Bowman Hitting Challenge during last year’s Arizona Fall League competition.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

All 30 of the competitors most likely agree with the AFL’s Steve Cobb.

“The Bowman Hitting Challenge is the best way to start our season,” explains league director Steve Cobb. “It is a fun competition for our players as well as the fans.”

The 2016 AFL begins on Tuesday, October 11 and is celebrating its 25th anniversary.