For decades, baseball has been mostly the same game, with very few rule changes. However, in 2023 the league added a rule to start extra innings with an automatic runner on second base, and they also added a pitch clock for the pitcher and batter. These changes were made to make the games more enjoyable and reduce the lengths of games.
In the past few days, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has been talking about a new possible rule, the Golden At-Bat.
The Golden At-Bat will let a team use whichever hitter they want in a big spot in the game. For example, it could be the bottom of the ninth in a tie game with the bases loaded – but the Pirates have Connor Joe scheduled to bat. He could come up clutch and get a hit – but the Bucs would have a better chance of winning if Bryan Reynolds was at the plate. The new rule would let the team send Reynolds to the plate instead.
Manfred has specified any potential limits on how often or when the teams could use a Golden At-Bat substitution. Some fans and commentators have suggested that the Golden At-Bat should be limited to once a game, while others have argued that it should only be used after the seventh inning, or by the team that is losing.
This proposed rule would not be adopted in the majors for years, if it does at all.
It should not happen at all.
There is a point of having a nine-man lineup in baseball, and letting the team’s best hitter bat in a big spot defeats that purpose.
Along with that, the MLB will see fewer iconic moments that people would remember, like Mike Brosseau hitting a game-winning home run against Aroldis Chapman in the 2020 playoffs, or Bill Mazeroski hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1960 World Series for the Pirates. None of those moments would have happened under the proposed rule, since the teams would have substituted in their top hitters instead.
Overall, this proposed rule would make baseball games more exciting to watch. But it would give a lesser opportunity for more unknown players to shine in big moments.
