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With one exception: the Home Run Derby.

No more splitters. No more sinkers. No more 98-m.p.h. four-seamers with movement. The pitcher’s goal, for once, is pure and utter annihilation of every pitch.

How then does a derby pitcher do it? It requires casting aside a century of baseball evolution — although for many it is not entirely unfamiliar, as most derby pitchers also toss batting practice regularly. But even then, throwing at a derby is different. Tens of thousands watch from the stands and millions more at home. The velocity, pace and location of pitches is novel, too. It’s a different beast. Fail to master it and you will be embarrassed for the world to see.

And the worst part? It all seems so simple.

“There’s more (pressure) than people think,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who threw to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in two derbies.

Chuck Ristano didn’t realize the pressure cooker he was signing up for in 2021. Instead, in the Delta terminal at the Atlanta airport, he was hit by a wave of worry when he got a call from a kid he had coached long ago at the University of Notre Dame.

“When I saw the phone ringing and it’s Trey Mancini, I was like, ‘Uh oh,’ ” Ristano told the Star in a recent interview. “The first thing he said to me was, ‘Hey coach, nobody knows this yet.’ And in that brief second, I thought he was about to tell me something was going on with his health.”

Something had been going on with his health. One year earlier, in 2020, Mancini — a first baseman, then with the Baltimore Orioles — was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. He underwent six months of chemotherapy and returned to the Orioles in time for opening day. But in June of that year, one blood test showed he could have more cancer cells or a tumour. (A later test confirmed he was cancer-free.)

Around the same time, Ristano got the call.

“I’ve told you for a very long time, if I get to the big-league Home Run Derby, you’re gonna be the one I call,” Mancini said according to Ristano, referencing a promise Mancini had made nine years earlier after Ristano pitched to him in a college derby. “I just got invited, so here it is.”

Be good, or else

It wasn’t until Ristano landed back in South Bend, Ind., the home of Notre Dame, that his excitement turned to nerves.

With good reason. At last year’s derby, Adolis García — the Rangers right-fielder and one of baseball’s most prolific power hitters — was eliminated in the first round after hitting 17 home runs. Social media blamed his pitcher, Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley.

They also blamed Pete Alonso’s pitcher that year. And Ronald Acuña Jr.’s in 2022. And Shohei Ohtani’s in 2021. And Matt Chapman’s in 2019.

The internet shows no mercy.

“Man, you better be good,” Ristano told himself. “You turn into a viral internet video if you don’t throw strikes.”

Preparing is key — except when you can’t

Giving up home runs is hard. Here’s how the pros do it.

The first step is preparation. In 2022, Cleveland Guardians slugger José Ramirez chose Junior Betances, his coach in rookie ball, as his pitcher.

Betances was in Maryland at the time. The next day he flew to Cleveland, where he practised with Ramirez, who requested fast pitches as they would be for normal batting practice. The day after, they both flew to Los Angeles for the derby.

Likewise for Luis Sierra, the White Sox bullpen catcher who threw to Luis Robert Jr. in 2023. The pair practised a few days before the derby. Robert told him to keep it the same as batting practice. “Just keep doing you,” he said, according to Sierra. “I like the way you throw.”

For Schneider and Guerrero — in 2019 and 2023 — the prep was simple. Schneider already threw batting practice to the first baseman regularly and Guerrero requested he throw middle-in, where Guerrero’s power is greatest.

Ristano had no preparation. He got only 15 practice pitches in the minute before the TV broadcast began — the first he had thrown to Mancini in eight years.

And even with preparation, things can go sideways. Betances threw hard to Ramirez in their practice and in the cages at Dodger Stadium. Then when they got on the field there, Ramirez saw someone else tossing slowly.

“He told me, ‘Oh, I want BP like that,’ ” Betances said. So much for practice.

Don’t lose focus

The key on the field, past pitchers say, is to watch only the plate. That’s the one piece of advice Betances got from Dave Jauss, the derby veteran who has twice thrown to Alonso, winning once, and will throw again to Alonso on Monday night. Focus only on the catcher’s glove. If you turn to watch a ball go out, your next pitch won’t be in the same spot.

Ristano didn’t have any idea if the balls Mancini hit were going out. He just knew if the ball was hit well, and tried to put his next pitch in the same spot.

But focusing on the hitter is easier said than done. This is the Home Run Derby after all, a bonanza of music and media and mayhem. The entire day is a test of focus and confidence in a sea of impostor syndrome.

“You almost feel like a girlfriend that’s tagging along,” Ristano said. “I’m like, ‘OK, if I stay close to Trey, I can’t do anything to embarrass him.’ ”

It begins in the clubhouse. Ristano, an Italian kid from New York, had his locker next to the Yankees. He saw the pinstripes of Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman up close. Then he walked to the field — his first time seeing it, only minutes before the derby.

“That light starts to get brighter and brighter, and you walk out,” Ristano said. “Holy cow. That’s 50,000 people … The noise is loud enough where it becomes almost ambient.”

Even Schneider, who has been a major-league coach since 2019, felt the pressure. It’s different than managing from the dugout, he said. You’re in the spotlight. You feel like you’re on an island.

Ristano stood next to NFL great Peyton Manning during the national anthems. He razzed legendary Red Sox slugger David Ortiz about his 2004 demolition of the Yankees. He has a picture hanging up at home of him with Manning, Ortiz and Mancini.

Things largely worked out for Schneider and Guerrero. In 2019, as the youngest-ever derby participant, Guerrero lost in the final to Alonso but set single-round and derby total records along the way. In 2023, Guerrero won.

“On paper, I gotta be the best BP pitcher in major-league history,” Schneider said.

For others, success wasn’t in the cards. Betances and Ramirez lost in the first round. Sierra and Robert lost in the semifinal. Ristano and Mancini made it to the final — then lost to Alonso.

But the memory is irreplaceable.

“The birth of my children, going to the College World Series, and probably the Home Run Derby,” Ristano said. “Those are the things I’ll probably take to my grave with me.”

With files from Mike Wilner