Home Run Derby 2023: Who Hits the Most Dingers Per Dollar?

As the All-Star staple returns, Boardroom crunches the numbers to determine which participant’s long balls deliver the best return on investment.

These days, when the Home Run Derby rolls back around, there are two names on your mind: Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Since 2019, these two have waged memorable battles at the dish, sending delirious dinger denizens into reverie from banks of the Cuyahoga to Julián Chávez’s most favorite ravine. This year, the party heads to Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, home to another Derby masher, Julio Rodriguez, who stormed onto the scene last year only to fall just short of the top prize in the final against Juan Soto.

But what if I told you that of all this year’s participants, not a single one I’ve mentioned can lay claim to delivering the best return on investment so far in 2023 it relates to home runs as a function of salary spending?

Look at it this way. Would you rather have:

PLAYER A, on pace for 47 home runs this season at a salary of $25 million, or
PLAYER B, on pace for 29 home runs at a salary of $4.15 million?

Find out just who those two guys are below — while the MLB’s actual baseballs may not be juiced to the moon like they were in 2019, we’re here to give you a handful of names to consider with regards to ROI as Julio, Vladdy, the Polar Bear, Mookie Betts, and four of their moonshottin’-est friends take the field for Home Run Derby 2023.

Home Run Derby 2023: The Best Bangs for Your Long Ball Buck

1. Rangers OF ADOLIS GARCIA: Pacing for $18,238 per HR

23 home runs through 91 team games
2023 salary: $747,760
162-game HR pace: 41

2. Orioles C ADLEY RUTSCHMAN: Pacing for $34,947 per HR

12 home runs through 89 games
2023 salary: $733,900
162-game HR pace: 21

3. Mets 1B PETE ALONSO: Pacing for $92,222 per HR

26 home runs through 92 games
2023 salary: $14,500,000
162-game HR pace: 45

4. Rays OF RANDY AROZARENA: Pacing for $143,103 per HR

16 home runs through 88 games
2023 salary: $4,150,000
162-game HR pace: 29

5. White Sox OF LUIS ROBERT: Pacing for $211,111 per HR

26 home runs through 92 games
2023 salary: $9,500,000
162-game HR pace: 45

6. Dodgers OF MOOKIE BETTS: Pacing for $531,914 per HR

26 home runs through 89 games
2023 salary: $25,000,000
162-game HR pace: 47

NOTE: Betts’ contract with the Dodgers includes $115 million in deferred money; he will receive $17 million of his $25 million 2023 salary number now, with the rest coming annually between 2033 and 2044.

Click here to see the full details on Betts’ $365 million extension.