​Home Run Derby Rules Rob Willson Contreras of Chance to Win Title for Red Sox originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.No matter what rules the MLB Home Run Derby uses, it’s committed to its bracket format.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn Monday night in Philadelphia, that robbed Willson Contreras of a chance to compete for the championship.To sum it up: Contreras hit the second-most homers in the semifinal round, but he didn’t advance to the final.That’s because he was matched up with Kyle Schwarber, who hit the most. Schwarber had nine compared to Contreras’ eight.The other semifinal ended up 6-5.But because this was a bracket matchup format, Contreras saw his night end, while Jordan Walker’s six from the other semifinal moved him on.In exciting fashion, Walker beat Schwarber, but it could’ve been Contreras.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE: Full list of Boston Red Sox 2026 MLB Draft picksSure, Contreras already lost to Schwarber, but that doesn’t have to be the format at all.They could have each of the four semifinalists take their allotted swings and just rank them one through four. They don’t have to be a pair of matchups. That’s just the way they’ve decided to do it.Contreras was really impressive while he was out there, showing off absolutely prodigious power, including a three-in-a-row stretch of massive blasts:Life isn’t fair, and maybe this is a tiny lesson in that.But it’s reasonable to say Contreras should hold his head up after that performance. He launched baseballs in a way that, if the rules were a bit more straightforward, would’ve given him a chance to compete for the title.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLatest Red Sox news2026 Red Sox schedule2026 Red Sox rosterComplete history of Red Sox championships