Some light-hearted trash talking already has begun as former Milwaukee Brewers players prepare for the highly anticipated Alumni Home Run Derby this month, as part of the festivities centered around the 25th anniversary celebration of the team’s ballpark.
A pair of now-retired Brewers’ fan favorites, Ryan Braun and Carlos Gómez, spoke of their excitement for the event on Tuesday in a session with media members. The former All-Stars discussed their upcoming return to American Family Field, shared memories from their playing days and previewed the derby festivities.
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“Everybody’s excited about it. I’m excited to see former teammates and coaches and support staff,” said Braun, who retired after the 2020 season after spending his entire 14-year career in Milwaukee. “But we’re all inherently competitive.”
Braun said it had been years since he’d taken batting practice but has been working on getting his swing powerful swing back in shape. “That piece of it is fun,” he said. “We’ll all be pretty competitive when it comes down to the event it itself.”
Braun is expected to take batting practice with the Brewers in a little more than a week when the team travels to Los Angeles, where Braun resides, to take on the Dodgers.
Gomez, who was Braun’s teammate for six seasons, said that when he learned about plans for the derby, he felt a rush of “adrenaline, passion and motivation.”
“When we get to the field, the competition part will kick in but right now, we’re excited about seeing each other and giving a good show to the fans,” Gomez said.
Gomez took part in batting practice with the Brewers when team was in Miami last week for a three-game series against the Marlins.
First round for Gómey. Homered on his fifth swing. pic.twitter.com/lnpEmIJNuq
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) July 4, 2025
The Alumni Home Run Derby, which will feature team and individual competitions, is a highlight of the 25th Season of American Family Field Celebration, scheduled for July 25 when the Brewers face the Miami Marlins. The derby will take place immediately following the 3:10 p.m. game.
The ballpark, initially known as Miller Park before becoming American Family Field before the 2021 season, officially opened for regular-season action on April 6, 2001, with a game against the Cincinnati Reds, the same team that helped close the Brewers former home, County Stadium, the previous season.
The Home Run Derby will feature notable Brewers alumni, including Braun and Gómez, who are serving as team captains. They will be joined by a contingent of former Brew Crew players that includes Keon Broxton, Prince Fielder, Yovani Gallardo, Bill Hall, Corey Hart, Casey McGehee, Nyjer Morgan and Eric Thames.
Longtime Brewers coach Ed Sedar and alum George Kottaras will serve as the pitching and catching duo for the derby.
“I’m excited to be a part of the event,” Braun said. “We all look forward to an opportunity to spend time together. The city of Milwaukee always felt like a second home to me and my family. We have so many friends still in the city. I love the opportunity to interact with the fan base again. Hopefully, we can put on a good show for everybody. All of us have been out of the game for at least a few years but it’s always so special to have an opportunity to get back there and interact with the fans and the community.”
Gómez shared Braun’s excitement for the event. “It’s a gift for the fans,” he said. “We can bring a lot of good memories back to them and they can enjoy it.”
Gómez said he’s especially looking forward to reconnecting with former teammates, including one in particular – Nyjer Morgan – who famously hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS, to win the game and the series for the Brewers against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The hit drove in Gómez from second base, securing the Brewers first playoff series win in 29 years in one of the great moments in franchise history.
“I can’t wait to see Nyjer,” Gómez said while forming the “T” hand gesture to signify Morgan’s alter-ego Tony Plush.
When asked to predict who would win the derby, Braun didn’t hesitate.
“The easy answer is Prince (Fielder),” he said. “Prince has probably been as good historically at this event as almost anybody. He’s got to be the odds-on favorite.”
Fielder won two Major League All-Star Game home run derby championships, first in 2009 representing the Brewers and then again in 2012 as a Detroit Tiger.
“But I would put Carlos’ skill set up there with anybody’s. Strength, power, explosiveness,” Braun added. “I have no doubt that both of those guys will put on a great show. And I think back to batting practice with Eric Thames, he can really get on a roll, as well. There’s a lot of talent in this event and a lot of guys with a lot of experience hitting home runs. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
Don’t count out Braun, who belted 352 home runs during his playing career.
“I don’t take batting practice, ever. I was genuinely curious about how I would feel and how my body would respond,” the 41-year-old Braun said. “When I start to swing the bat, is the power still there? Is the bat speed still decent? There’s definitely a real vulnerability that comes with it because we’ve all been out of the game for a least a few years. But when we get out there, it will be competitive.”
Braun said he just started swinging a bat again last week.
“I feel surprisingly good. The ball is coming off the bat pretty well,” he said. “Hopefully, I will continue to progress over the next couple of weeks. It’s just fun to get back out there. For me at this stage in life, it’s fun when you have something that’s motivating, inspiring. I want get myself in decent shape to put myself in a position to have fun and enjoy it but also have some success in the event.”
Braun said he challenged former teammate Christian Yelich, the team’s current franchise player and 2018 National League MVP, to participate in the derby.
“He didn’t believe I was actually going to do it. I told him I’d put any amount of money on it. Me against him. He’s arguably still in his prime and in mid-season form but he’s been very scared and hesitant,” Braun said with a smile.
Braun suggested that any winnings from their individual competition could be donated to charity, but he still couldn’t get Yelich to bite. “He still wouldn’t do it. Let’s put that on the record,” Braun said.
Brewers Vice President of Communications Tyler Barnes said he was hesitant when the idea of a home run derby first came up. “My initial response was that it might be tough to pull off,” he said. That all changed when the team began contacting potential participants about a month ago, he said.
“Once we started contacting guys about coming in, their response to this was phenomenal,” Barnes said. “Everyone wanted to come here. When word actually started to spread to other alumni who were not on the original list that we reached out to, they contacted us and asked if they could come. We opened the doors and if guys were interested in being here, we wanted them here.”
Barnes said he’s been a bit taken aback by the interest the derby has generated among former players as well as fans.
“The buzz for this has been fantastic,” he said. “We thought it would be of interest but I think that we even underestimated how much interest there would be, how much excitement there would be. That leads me to believe that there’s a future for something like this in the coming years, too.”
Gómez stressed the need for derby participants to “look clean” on the day of the event. “I’ll come ready. I’ll have my own bat and my own equipment to look sharp,” he said.
Katina Shaw, the team’s vice president of community relations, said participants will be provided with Brewers City Connect jerseys, blue shorts adorned with a 25-season logo and turf shoes. “You’ll be decked out and looking fresh,” Shaw assured Gómez.
In addition to those participating in the derby, a group of Brewers alums that includes J.J. Hardy, José Hernández, Geoff Jenkins, Corey Knebel, Dan Kolb, Mark Loretta, Mike Moustakas, Jimmy Nelson, Jace Peterson, Ben Sheets, Eric Sogard and Randy Wolf will engage with fans in photo and autograph sessions and much more throughout the day.
“The entire day is really programmed around the first 25 seasons of the ballpark,” Barnes said. “We’ll also have guys being guest bartenders and we may or may not have participants in the sausage race.”
All activities featuring Brewers alumni will be free for fans attending that day’s game.
As the big day approaches, Braun said he expects the trash talking to pick up. “We all talk a little bit of trash. I’m the biggest trash talker,” he said. “The trash talk hasn’t gotten too extreme yet but it will definitely increase as we get closer to the event.”
Gómez said video evidence may be in order as the former players get tuned up for the contest. “When we get closer to the competition, post videos,” he said. “Look at how I’m looking now. Look at how far I hit the ball. Then we’ll start talking more.”
And don’t even think about installing temporary fences to shorten the distance for a home run, Braun said. “By far, the consensus is absolutely not. That would be utterly embarrassing,” Braun said. “I think we’d all rather get shut out than move the fences in.”
