Who is pitching to Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby? Why Dodgers coach Dino Ebel is paired with Phillies star

Who is pitching to Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby? Why Dodgers coach Dino Ebel is paired with Phillies star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It may be hard to believe that Bryce Harper is in the middle of his eighth season as a Phillie. When Philadelphia was announced as the site of this year's All-Star festivities seven years ago, he was on the stage — and since then, given his combination of star power and slugging, he's virtually been penciled in as a 2026 Home Run Derby participant.

Harper's official announcement took longer than anticipated, however. His father, who threw to him in his 2018 Derby victory in Washington D.C., was no longer an option, leaving Harper to find a trustworthy enough candidate to throw to him in a massive event.

The Phillies star settled upon a three-time World Series champion coach who has already found some derby success.

Here's why Harper wound up choosing Dodgers coach Dino Ebel to throw to him at the 2026 Home Run Derby. 

MORE:Who will win the Home Run Derby?

Who is pitching to Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby?

Harper will be taking pitches from Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel at the 2026 Home Run Derby. Despite fan interest in Harper going for a second Derby trophy — also with a chance to win in front of his home fans after doing so in 2018 — he didn't commit to the event until days prior, partially due to him not having a locked-in pitching option.

“Then once I thought about it more and more,” Harper said, per The Athletic. “Knowing the fans want me to do it, my kids are going to be able to remember it — things like that sparked my interest a little bit more.”

After weighing his options, Harper picked Ebel to throw to him at Citizens Bank Park, going with somebody he was able to develop a relationship with at another major baseball event earlier in 2026.

“He throws a really good BP,” Harper said of Ebel, per The Athletic. “I think the tough part is I won’t be able to see him before the Derby really to practice or anything else. So we’re trying to go into it a little bit blind.”

Who is Dino Ebel?

Ebel is a 60-year-old coach who is currently the Dodgers' third-base coach. Born in Barstow, California, during his own baseball playing career, Ebel attended San Bernardino Valley College, won an NCAA Division II title with Florida Southern College in 1988, joined the Dodgers organization as a free agent and found some success in the minor leagues before moving into coaching.

After initially becoming a player-coach in Class A-Advanced and high-A, Ebel officially became a minor-league manager by 1997. He would spend 17 years in the Dodgers' organization before a 2005 move to the Angels' system, starting out as the coach of the Stingers in the PCL, then eventually moving into the big leagues.

MORE:Does the Home Run Derby actually ruin players' swings?

Dino Ebel coaching background

Ebel is one of the more highly-regarded assistant coaches around baseball, spending nearly his entire life in the sport as a manager and coach. 

After his player-coach days in the minor leagues were over, Ebel went on to manage in high-A, the Rookie-level Pioneer League, the Class-A Short Season Northwest League, Class A, Class AA all within the Dodgers' organization. After 17 years being employed by the Dodgers, however, Ebel joined the Angels' system in 2005 and eventually moved up to the big leagues.

Ebel became a third-base coach for the Angels, then became the bench coach in 2014. Since 2018, however, Ebel has been back with the Dodgers, remaining the team's third-base coach for three World Series championships.

And that's not the end of his strong coaching pedigree over the last decade — Ebel has also been Team USA's third-base coach in each of the last two World Baseball Classic tournaments.

Why Bryce Harper chose Dino Ebel

The last time he competed in the Home Run Derby, Harper had his father, Ron, throw pitches to him. But in 2026, that wasn't an option, with Ron having not thrown BP in years.

Initially, Harper was mulling whether he'd participate at all. But, per The Athletic, after thinking about asking those who threw previously to him in college and the minor leagues, Harper decided upon Ebel, who also threw pitches to Phillies teammate Kyle Schwarber during the swing-off portion of the 2025 All-Star Game. 

Harper spent time with Ebel at this year's World Baseball Classic on Team USA, and as yet another added bonus, he's already helped win a Home Run Derby. In 2024, Ebel pitched to the Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez, who won the event.

“I'm super comfortable with my dad throwing to me for my whole life," Harper said, per MLB.com. "That’s a big thing. You can't just pick somebody random to go out there. … I'm not going to do something if I'm going to have a half-mentality towards it, because I'm worried about the pitcher, or I'm worried about what's going to happen, or anything else. If I'm going to do it, I want to be full bore and very confident in winning it.” 

MORE: Ranking the 13 greatest Home Run Derby performances in history