MLB hasn’t shied away from contemplating rule modifications over the previous few seasons. The league has unilaterally applied a pitch clock, a three-batter minimal for pitchers (barring damage), shift limitations, and incentivized base stealing with pickoff limits and bigger bases. MLB and the Gamers Affiliation additionally agreed to implement a common designated hitter within the 2022 collective bargaining settlement.
That hasn’t dissuaded commissioner Rob Manfred from contemplating different modifications. Maybe probably the most excessive suggestion that the commissioner has publicly floated can be the potential for implementing a “golden at-bat” rule. Jayson Stark of The Athletic revealed a prolonged piece on Monday detailing potential variations of that idea.
At its core, the golden at-bat concept is to permit a workforce one alternative to name upon a hitter who’s within the lineup however not due for the upcoming at-bat. It’d be considerably akin to pinch hitting with a participant who’s already within the sport. As Stark notes, the rule might be narrowed to restrict when groups may use the golden at-bat (e.g. after a sure inning, solely after they’re trailing, and so forth.)
In October, Manfred prompt there might be some help inside the league for exploring that idea. In an look on The Varsity podcast with Puck’s John Ourand (X hyperlink), Manfred stated on the time “there was just a little buzz round” the idea at a current house owners assembly. The commissioner stated that concept is “within the conversation-only stage proper now.”
It’s price stressing that there’s nothing to recommend MLB has any plans to check this concept. There’s a major hole between it surfacing in informal dialog and its look in any of Spring Coaching, the minors, or on the All-Star Sport — a lot much less in significant MLB contests.
The aim can be to extend the variety of high-leverage plate appearances that go to high hitters. That’d create extra drama in shut video games, but it surely’d be a radical change to the game. The fastened nature of the batting order typically leaves big at-bats within the arms of much less heralded gamers. One may argue that’s a flaw compared to different sports activities the place groups can select to show the ball to their stars when video games are on the road. On the similar time, lots of baseball’s most magical moments come when gamers on the backside of the order rise to the event with key hits.
Whereas implementing one golden at-bat wouldn’t fully get rid of these alternatives, it’d scale back them. It’s additionally an inherently synthetic measure that’d signify a basic change from the best way baseball has been performed all through its historical past. That’s arguably true of another current rule changes, however the golden at-bat would most likely have a a lot larger impact than any of the opposite modifications.
Stark’s column goes into far more element concerning the technique implications that may be at play, in addition to issues about custom and inflated file totals that’d include permitting groups to present their finest hitter an additional at-bat each sport. Stark speaks with gamers, entrance workplace personnel, and longtime skipper Joe Maddon (lots of whom specific their disapproval for the idea) concerning the concept in a chunk that’s price a full learn.
