MLB (Manfred) pondering the idea of a Golden At-Bat

astrozombie

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Sep 12, 2022
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They should treat it like an offsides challenge in hockey, and if one of a team's shitty hitters made an out with runners on base two innings ago, but it looks like those runs matter now, the team can reverse time and put their better hitter in that spot.
Hockey's offside challenge is one of the most broken, infuriating things.
 

loneredseat

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Dec 8, 2023
292
Obviously, just awful.
It would be fun to see all the managers agree on it's stupidity and refuse to use it.
 

InstaFace

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Sep 27, 2016
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Haha, I'm sure ideas like this get thrown around at every owners meeting in every sport.
This. I would bet money against this happening. Designated runners so that extra-innings games end faster - that's solving a real-world problem that existed, with regular-season extra inning games going on way way too long. This would not be solving a problem, and would be upending tradition and stats in so many different ways.

That said, I will not join the chorus of people condemning Manfred for entertaining ideas like this. I much prefer his "willing to try things" mentality to Selig's "never change anything" approach. He doesn't have to bat 1.000 on the things he tries in order to make a net-improvement to baseball. Anyone killing him for merely throwing this around needs to reckon with the massive, massive gains to the sport that have accrued from implementing the pitch clock and the other delay-reduction changes. Let's firstly judge him by what actually happens rather than what might be proposed, secondly not pre-judge the things that happen until we see them play out in real life, and thirdly judge him in the aggregate for what he's done, good and bad, to move the game forward, rather than cherry-picking one or two things we might not like. Frankly I think he's the second-best commissioner in sports after Adam Silver (who likewise has gotten killed by fans who don't care for the in-season tournament), and it's a long way down to third place from there.
 

The Gray Eagle

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Aug 1, 2001
17,851
This is what you get when a sport is run by people who don't like that sport.
There's got to be a way to make this idea even more contrived and fake. Maybe for the Golden At-Bat the hitter can hit the ball off a batting tee instead of facing a pitcher. That would cut down on pitcher injuries!
Since we have the technology for retractable roofs, they should make a rule that 4 times per game each team can call for the fences to be moved in by 50 feet.
And then in extra innings, the fences would slide back and forth the whole time, so no one would know if a fly ball would be a home run or an out until it landed!
There are lots of idea like this that they could consider.
Because if there's one thing all baseball fans love, it's change.
 

brienc

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Jul 26, 2005
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Rob Manfred hates baseball and is convinced it’s too boring for the modern attention span, so why not just play three innings and then have a home run hitting contest to decide the winner. Maybe shoot tshirts into the crowd in between at bats to keep the fans engaged. Also, put another sport on the big screen that fans actually like so they don’t leave.
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
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This. I would bet money against this happening. Designated runners so that extra-innings games end faster - that's solving a real-world problem that existed, with regular-season extra inning games going on way way too long. This would not be solving a problem, and would be upending tradition and stats in so many different ways.

That said, I will not join the chorus of people condemning Manfred for entertaining ideas like this. I much prefer his "willing to try things" mentality to Selig's "never change anything" approach. He doesn't have to bat 1.000 on the things he tries in order to make a net-improvement to baseball. Anyone killing him for merely throwing this around needs to reckon with the massive, massive gains to the sport that have accrued from implementing the pitch clock and the other delay-reduction changes. Let's firstly judge him by what actually happens rather than what might be proposed, secondly not pre-judge the things that happen until we see them play out in real life, and thirdly judge him in the aggregate for what he's done, good and bad, to move the game forward, rather than cherry-picking one or two things we might not like. Frankly I think he's the second-best commissioner in sports after Adam Silver (who likewise has gotten killed by fans who don't care for the in-season tournament), and it's a long way down to third place from there.
Yup, I'm surprised how many people seem to genuinely think this is something that could happen. I think that goes to show how much dislike (whether rightfully or not) people have for Manfred and are frustrated in general with the state of MLB.
 

GlucoDoc

New Member
Dec 19, 2005
101
There is a reason for the poor general dislike of MLB and it is ideas like this one. It sucks. Why not just flip a coin in a tied game at the end of 9 innings to determine the winner and then go to 20 minutes of commercials. Or better yet, commercials first, then flip the coin to force the audience to stay tuned waiting.
 

zenax

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Apr 12, 2023
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Manfred, and the like, are afraid baseball is disappearing from the American scene so they are doing whatever they think will help keep interest high, no matter how ridiculous or stupid the changes are.

I learned how to keep score about a week before I turned ten and after that I scored every game I heard or saw and soon began compiling stats (and while attempting to prove that Williams was better than Ruth, I invented OBP, only to later learn that it already existed). But what has been done to the game I knew and loved has been driving me away.
 

Cumberland Blues

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Sep 9, 2001
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And then the defense gets one play with 11 fielders and can pick from the opposing coaches for the batter. It'll be great.

By great I mean holy shit this is the dumbest thing ever.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Sep 9, 2008
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I fucking love it. Burn that shit down and build it back up.

(Kidding. I just thought someone should try.)
 

LogansDad

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Nov 15, 2006
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Manfred, and the like, are afraid baseball is disappearing from the American scene so they are doing whatever they think will help keep interest high, no matter how ridiculous or stupid the changes are.

I learned how to keep score about a week before I turned ten and after that I scored every game I heard or saw and soon began compiling stats (and while attempting to prove that Williams was better than Ruth, I invented OBP, only to later learn that it already existed). But what has been done to the game I knew and loved has been driving me away.
You know you're still allowed to keep score, right?
 

Scott Cooper's Grand Slam

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Jul 12, 2008
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Golden, like the Savanah Bananas!

I don’t like this idea.
This is exactly right. I'd eat this up watching Banana Ball or another exhibition contest. But for competitive, Major League Baseball played at the highest level? Hitters have to hit. Don't like who's up at the plate in a crucial moment? Construct your lineup and/or your benches better.

David Ortiz's heroics lose a lot of magic if his turn at bat is guaranteed. Part of the fun and drama of competitive baseball is watching someone else come through or extending the inning to get the big bat to the plate.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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If the Golden Batter makes and out, that team must finish the game with Bobby Valentine replacing their manager.
More seriously, if the Golden Batter makes an out, it counts for two outs. Make it really hurt to have it not work.

Add me to the chorus of "this is stupid and I hope they never do it."
 

Green Monster

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Sep 29, 2000
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Maybe every pitcher could get one mulligan....you know, they hang a curve ball that ends up over the monster. Aaron Judge is trotting around second base and they call a Mulligan. Judge has to get back in the box like nothing happened.
 

YTF

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And then the defense gets one play with 11 fielders and can pick from the opposing coaches for the batter. It'll be great.

By great I mean holy shit this is the dumbest thing ever.
Aside from the coaches (because that would be a bridge to far) I like the potential strategy here. You have one play to field 11 defenders. Do you use it in a key moment or to counter the Golden AB? OR vice versa? 3D chess indeed, I'm all in.
 

Fishercat

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May 18, 2007
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More seriously, if the Golden Batter makes an out, it counts for two outs. Make it really hurt to have it not work.

Add me to the chorus of "this is stupid and I hope they never do it."
Yeah this is it for me. The only way I can make this palatable in my head is to add such onerous penalties to failure that it neuters the idea. Like I'd make it a sudden-death at bat. Inning is over after the at-bat if any kind of out is made. 0 outs, 2 outs, who cares, treat it like sudden death OT. Or it forces the golden at-bat user to sub-out. If the Dodgers want to move Ohtani up seven slots in the lineup, cool he can sit out the rest of the game following that. Or a team designates, pre-game, their "golden at-bat" participant among non-starting players and it's basically a superpowered PH who isn't forced to sub in, so you could sub Yoshida in for one at bat for Emmanuel Valdez and then Emmanuel goes back to the field if the game continues, etc.

I have to make it "not-fun" to make it viable for me.
 

tims4wins

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Jul 15, 2005
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Yeah this is it for me. The only way I can make this palatable in my head is to add such onerous penalties to failure that it neuters the idea. Like I'd make it a sudden-death at bat. Inning is over after the at-bat if any kind of out is made. 0 outs, 2 outs, who cares, treat it like sudden death OT. Or it forces the golden at-bat user to sub-out. If the Dodgers want to move Ohtani up seven slots in the lineup, cool he can sit out the rest of the game following that. Or a team designates, pre-game, their "golden at-bat" participant among non-starting players and it's basically a superpowered PH who isn't forced to sub in, so you could sub Yoshida in for one at bat for Emmanuel Valdez and then Emmanuel goes back to the field if the game continues, etc.

I have to make it "not-fun" to make it viable for me.
Take it a step further - the entire game is over if he makes an out (and you lose even if you're ahead!).
 

8slim

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Nov 6, 2001
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Not only is this colossally stupid, but the idea that anyone in the league office spent time on this instead of figuring out the very real problems this sport has with pitcher injuries, and a dozen other pressing issues, is infuriating.
 

Green Monster

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Not only is this colossally stupid, but the idea that anyone in the league office spent time on this instead of figuring out the very real problems this sport has with pitcher injuries, and a dozen other pressing issues, is infuriating.
this is how they "earn" their million dollar salaries
 

SirPsychoSquints

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jmcc5400

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This is so contrived it's hardly worth thinking about, but one of the best things about the game, especially in the postseason, is the tense math of whether that dreaded batter is going to get another plate appearance. The "harmless" 2 out walk to the no. 7 hitter in the 8th is portentous because it is a step closer to meaning that the no. 3 hitter will get up in the 9th. But, no, let's rob the game of all of its drama.
 

Cassvt2023

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Jan 17, 2023
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Let's try this: Scenario A: Red Sox Sign Juan Soto for 14 yrs with no opt outs, Trade Abreu, Bleis, Wilkenman for Crochet but you have to be in favor of the Golden At Bat Rule, or

Scenario B: Red Sox Sign Max Fried and Willy Adames, Move Raffy to DH and unload Yoshida for spare parts but no Golden At Bat.

(In both scenarios, they upgrade bullpen and Catcher)

Which do you choose?
 
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Archer1979

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Years from now, when the kids and the grandkids are discussing whether or not to put me away in the home, someone will put on NESN Ocho and the Sox will be playing the Tijuana Bulldogs and its late in the bottom of seventh inning and the Sox manager is pondering whether or not to use his Golden At Bat with the hopes of a walk-off home run. I'll mumble something about how I remember a time when the game went nine innings, that everyone batted in their place in the order, and the uniforms were devoid of decals that made them look like the Bad News Bears.

Within an hour, the paperwork will be signed attesting to my incompetence because there is no way that a sport that sucks like MLB could possibly have been that intelligent.

Edit: tl/dr Say you hate baseball without saying you hate baseball.
 

6-5 Sadler

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To be clear I think this is a dumb idea but I can sorta see where Manfred is coming from here. Baseball is a tough sport to market. Your most marketable star hitters only come to the plate 4ish times per game vs. a star QB in football or a great basketball player who is involved in like 40-50 plays.

I’m sure the genesis of this idea was some marketing genius trying to figure out a way to get the Ohtanis and Judges into more game action. MLB might even have data which shows less interest/eyeballs (and potential less sponsor dollars) when the 7-9 hitters are coming up in an inning. By creating this new rule, the viewer never knows when Ohtani/Judge will come to the plate and therefore will pay attention longer/more consistently.
 

themactavish

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Aug 4, 2010
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St. Cloud, MN
Why not go schoolyard rules and have an "amplify" AB? Multiply whatever the guy does. If there are no outs, and the amplifier gets a single or walk, the bases are then loaded. If he hits a double, there's a runner on second with 2 runs in. A homer becomes a 3-run shot. But if he makes an out, that counts for 3 outs. This kind of thing can be fun and interesting in the backyard or schoolyard, but not in MLB
 

Hank Scorpio

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Apr 1, 2013
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Add another player to each team. This one is placed atop the ballpark somewhere and operates a spotlight. Every time a player tries to steal a base, he has to keep running until he is either out, or scores. When the player starts to steal, have the entire ballpark go black, at which point the spotlight operator needs to "catch" the base stealer by hitting him with the spotlight. You know, kinda like someone trying to escape prison. If the player is caught stealing, he has to spend the rest of the game in shackles.

Also, every time a batter hits a home run, the pitcher needs to wait at home plate. Right before the batter crosses the plate, he must flip off the pitcher with both middle fingers, and deliver a Stone Cold Stunner, right on top of the plate. If he really sells the Stunner and gets "mad pops" from the crowd, it counts as a double grand slam - or eight runs.

Widen home plate so that two batters (a righty and a lefty) can bat at the same time - and make it so each team always has two batters up at bat at the same time. Kinda like pinball. Add a bunch of bumpers and targets on the field that equal points - and have fans bet on the number of points each team will get that night on Draft Kings. These points won't count in the actual game - just as an extra way to engage fans. Also have the points tied to some sort of raffle where one lucky fan can win some money (in the form of Draft Kings credits).

Add obstacle courses on the base paths in extra innings. Home to 1B can be a deep, muddy path. Between 1B and 2B, tires, hurdles, and maybe some barbed wire. As soon as a player breaks from 2B, the opposing team gets to release the hounds, and the player has to run as fast as they fucking can until they get into the dugout - and then they need to keep on running into the clubhouse, screaming for their life.
 

Rice4HOF

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Jan 21, 2002
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What if you want to use a batter who's on base at the time?
Slightly off topic, but i've actually witnessed this happening in a game that was using normal rules. A batter batted out of turn. Defense didn't notice so they kept going. A few batters later he was due up and was standing on 3rd base. Only at that point did the defense notice he had batted out of order (wayyyyyy too late to appeal that), and thought they could get a free out. Boy werre they disappointed when they found out the official rule is that batter's turn is simply skipped in the lineup.
Top of the lineup is due up.
Batter #4 goes up instead and singles. Defense doesn't appeal he went out of order, so now #5 is the proper batter.
Batter #2 goes up (he was on deck and didn't realize it wasn't #1 who went up before him), and strikes out. He too is batting out of order, but defense doesn't appeal, so now #3 is the proper batter
Batter #3 goes up and singles.
Now Batter #4 is due up, but he's staniding on 3rd base. What happens? By rule, he is skipped, and batter #5 becomes the proper batter with no penalty.
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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Oct 23, 2001
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To be clear I think this is a dumb idea but I can sorta see where Manfred is coming from here. Baseball is a tough sport to market. Your most marketable star hitters only come to the plate 4ish times per game vs. a star QB in football or a great basketball player who is involved in like 40-50 plays.

I’m sure the genesis of this idea was some marketing genius trying to figure out a way to get the Ohtanis and Judges into more game action. MLB might even have data which shows less interest/eyeballs (and potential less sponsor dollars) when the 7-9 hitters are coming up in an inning. By creating this new rule, the viewer never knows when Ohtani/Judge will come to the plate and therefore will pay attention longer/more consistently.
Maybe they should just replace baseball with Home Rin Derby.