The pitch clock is OK. It speeded up the game.
Ghost runners in extra innings were tough to get used to. But regular-season games shouldn’t last forever.
Restricting the infield shift increased offense.
The three-batter minimum for pitchers (or to the end of a half-inning) minimized the endless merry-go-round between mound, dugout and bullpen late in games.
Bigger bases and limiting pickoff throws to two per plate appearance adds excitement to baserunning. (Baseball’s fixation with the Three True Outcomes — home runs, strikeouts and walks — limits the game’s action. Anything that gets baserunners and fielders moving is good.)
But after adding so many rule changes that worked, you’d figure that MLB would become emboldened and go too far.
Enter the “Golden At-Bat.”
The “Golden At-Bat” is a lift from the Savannah Bananas, a barnstorming independent team that is baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters: Lots of schtick, plenty of fun. BANANA BALL!
Related
• Tim Benz: MLB 'Golden At-Bat' idea takes gold medal for stupidity
As with the Bananas’ “Golden Batter,” the “Golden At-Bat” would allow each team one chance per game to send their best hitter to the plate at a random time, batting out of order to get him swings in an important situation: Men on base, close score, etc.
Using the Los Angeles Dodgers for an example, Shohei Ohtani could step in for light-hitting second baseman Gavin Lux. The National League MVP bats in place of a .251 hitter. Ohtani could even bat twice in a row.
The appeal is easy to see. It virtually guarantees big hitters taking dramatic at-bats every game.
But it makes the game farcical. It’s something 10-year-olds formulate for Wiffle ball in the driveway.
What’s next? How about a “Golden Defense” rule? A team can put every rostered player in the field with a glove for one at-bat. Let’s see how Ohtani does against that.
How about a “Metal At-Bat”? Each team gets one plate appearance per game using an aluminum bat. Killing infielders would sell tickets. It could be sponsored by Metallica. Eddie Trunk could umpire.
Why not let a fan hit once per game? (He couldn’t do worse than Henry Davis.)
The “Golden At-Bat” is carny and stupid.
It gives good teams an even bigger advantage. Ohtani or Mookie Betts would take the “Golden At-Bat” for the Dodgers. Who would do it for the Pirates, Jared Triolo?
It has the potential to destroy the record book. Give Ohtani 100 extra at-bats with runners on base, and he might drive in 200 runs.
If the “Golden At-Bat” exists in 1960, Bill Mazeroski might not hit in the bottom of the ninth in Game 7.
Few who take baseball seriously are in favor of the “Golden At-Bat.”
But MLB is probably going to do it, anyway.
It’s not the sort of thing that can be tested in spring training, by the way. The selling point of the “Golden At-Bat” is drama. There’s no drama in exhibition games.
The Savannah Bananas are an inspiration for this beyond formulating the rule.
The Bananas drew over a million fans on tour in 2024. They sold out Fenway Park, baseball’s most traditional venue. The Bananas figure to be an even hotter ticket moving forward. They will play in 18 MLB parks and three football stadiums in 2025. They visit PNC Park for games Aug. 29-30.
MLB attendance is up 11% since 2023, when most of the aforementioned new rules were introduced.
MLB boss Rob Manfred is Pavlov’s commissioner: New rules equal more revenue. So, let’s introduce more new rules.
The most dramatic “Golden At-Bat” of that day’s MLB schedule would be the nightly lead on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” throughout the spring and summer. The rule is literally made for TV.
I’m hoping discussion of the “Golden At-Bat” is designed to stir up offseason chatter. That it’s not serious.
But it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like MLB will adopt the “Golden At-Bat” at some point.
I hate it.
But it will work.
Die-hard baseball fans won’t stop watching no matter what. The designated hitter didn’t stop them. The ghost runner didn’t stop them.
Casual baseball fans might get more invested via the drama of the “Golden At-Bat.”
The “Golden At-Bat” has the potential to shred certain sections of the record book.
But the men in the record book die. Baseball moves on. The record book isn’t that sacred, and hasn’t been since baseball stupidly let the steroid era delegitimize it.
Featured Local Businesses
Wow, it almost sounds like I’m trying to talk myself into liking the “Golden At-Bat.”