This week, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, who by the best way is a Philadelphia legend and one of many best baseball writers and other people within the trade, wrote a narrative detailing an concept talked about by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in a latest podcast (not Hittin’ Season, sadly).
It’s known as “The Golden At-Bat.” And, buddies, it’s the dumbest concept I believe I’ve ever heard.
Bear in mind Bryce Harper’s dwelling run towards the Padres in Recreation 5 of the 2022 NLCS, “Bedlam on the Financial institution?” Bear in mind Juan Soto’s go-ahead dwelling run towards the Guardians in Recreation 5 of final 12 months’s ALCS? Bear in mind the litany of star gamers who’ve emerged in huge moments to create a few of baseball’s most memorable moments? The Golden At-Bat would goal to permit groups to fabricate these moments with extra intentionality and on a extra common foundation.
Right here’s the concept:
As soon as per sport, a crew can ship its greatest hitter to the plate every time it desires, even when it’s not their flip to hit. Say it’s the underside of the ninth, you’re down by a run, and you’ve got a runner on 2nd with two outs, and Bryce Harper batted within the eighth. The Golden At-Bat would permit supervisor Rob Thomson to convey Harper as much as the plate once more to take one other whack at it.
That is an concept so loopy you’ll be able to’t even discover it obtainable in a online game.
There are all totally different sorts of circumstances that could possibly be positioned on this rule. Groups could possibly be restricted to utilizing the Golden At-Bat solely within the ninth inning or later. Or possibly they might additionally use it if they’re tied or trailing in a sport.
Beneath this concept, you would conceivably have Harper up within the ninth inning in a clutch scenario, however he flies out, after which have him go proper again as much as the plate and take a look at once more.
I’m not the most important traditionalist on the earth, however I’m additionally not able to mild the game on fireplace, which is what this rule would do.
Sure, baseball has had its star gamers have their share of historic moments, however one of many nice issues in regards to the sport is how the unknown gamers, the little guys, have been in a position to have their moments, too. Thrust into conditions that require greatness, the baseball gods generally create legends like David Freese, Bucky Dent or Matt Stairs, to call a number of. A part of what makes baseball particular is the authenticity of those moments. Attempting to create them by jury-rigging the system is lunacy.
Baseball has had its share of improvements over the previous couple of years and, for probably the most half, they’ve been glorious additions.
The pitch clock has helped remove the huge quantity of useless time between pitches and helped shorten video games by almost half an hour. Supervisor’s challenges have, on the entire, prevented umpires from screwing up calls on the sphere that don’t contain balls and strikes. Sometime quickly, automated balls and strike calls are coming to baseball, an eventuality I’m all in favor of.
However there have been misses, too, particularly the common season additional inning rule that mechanically locations a runner on 2nd base to begin the inning in an try to stop baseball video games from stretching into innings containing the world -teen on the finish of them.
Nobody is aware of how severe anybody is about The Golden At-Bat, however the reality the Commissioner talked about it in public means there may be at the very least some severe dialogue taking place at nighttime corners of some workplace constructing in New York.
People, phone your native congressman or baseball govt and inform them to vote “no” on The Golden At-Bat. Or, merely hearken to the Hittin’ Season podcast and electronic mail us your vote. Ship these emails to hittinseason@billypenn.com and pontificate!