Golden At-Bat "buzz'

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Defensive teams get a special "Golden Out" where they can designate any inning to complete with 2 outs and not 3.



Intentional walks are outlawed

[stevejrogers]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Defensive teams get a special "Golden Out" where they can designate any inning to complete with 2 outs and not 3. Intentional walks are outlawed

Reminds me that the great Rollie Fingers fake out in the World Series on Johnny Bench, while probably was one of the very few times a legit pitch was hurled on the 4th ball, is something that can never happen again.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

The Golden Manager rule allows each manager to change the outcome of any one decision in the game (pitching change, lineup construction, whatever) and litigate the results afterward

[smg58]

Can we find people to run the game of baseball who don't actually hate the game of baseball?

[Centerfield]

Personally, I love the idea of adding the Golden At-Bat to make it more like basketball.



When basketball had to introduce a mid-season tournament to generate interest in its games.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I thought of twenty changes that have come to the game since I started watching in 1971, including two changes that have since been rescinded and the one that is being proposed here. I ranked them from best to worst. I'm not including changes to free agency, drafts, compensation, arbitration, trade deadlines, waiver rules, qualifying offers, injured list, etc. I limited it to things that more directly affect what happens during the game and how the postseason field is determined.



The first section are things that I feel mostly positive about. The middle section is where I'm more or less neutral. And the bottom section are things that I feel mostly (or entirely) negative out.



Please feel free to chime in with your own rankings!





Pitch Clock

Expansion of Wild Card Round from Best-of-One to Best-of-Three

26-man roster

Expansion of LCS from Best-of-Five to Best-of-Seven

Three-batter minimum

Instant Replay

Shift ban



Limit on mound visits

Larger bases

Sticky-finger checks



Interleague play

{DEFUNCT: All-Star Game determines World Series home-field advantage}

{DEFUNCT: Optional 24-man roster}

Limit on pickoff attempts

Introduction of Wild Card, change from four divisions to six

Introduction of Second Wild Card

Introduction of Third Wild Card

Designated Hitter

Ghost Runner

Golden At-bat

[whippoorwill]

What if the golden batter is due up next after the golden at bat and he is on base?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Golden pinch runner?

[whippoorwill]

Lol

[metirish]

It's his smugness that gets me

[Centerfield]

My thoughts.



Rules I Like:

*Interleague Play. Though I would limit it more than it is now.

*Instant Replay. Though I would tweak this to get rid of the reversal if you momentarily break contact with the bag for a period of time imperceptible to the naked eye. I think it can be done.

*Limit on pickoff attempts

*Pitch Clock. I thought I'd hate this, but I have to admit this has worked well. Though I think you can give teams a warning and accomplish much of the same without having it affect the game. I also don't mind games being a bit longer.

*Limit on mound visits.



Rules I Don't Like:

*Introduction of Third Wild Card

*Designated Hitter in the NL

*Ghost Runner. I might hate this rule less if it were instituted in the 11th inning or later.



Rule I Despise And I Can't Even Believe Is Being Considered and Makes Me Want to Murder the Commissioner

*Golden At-bat





Neutral on the rest.

[MFS62]

That's how I would classify them, and would add two rule changes that I would reverse:

1) the option rule. I would go back to the old rule - three options, period. Not three option years in which a player can be yo-yo-ed multiple times.

I realize the game has changed ,so I would accommodate the need for extra pitchers by keeping the current 26 man major league roster limit. And, because teams need a chance to evaluate minor league talent, I would

2) go back to the 40 man roster limit after September 1.



I think we can all agree as to where Manfred can stick his golden bat.



Later

[Edgy MD]

=whippoorwill post_id=180223 time=1733336258 user_id=79]
What if the golden batter is due up next after the golden at bat and he is on base?

[Edgy MD]

=Centerfield post_id=180228 time=1733336715 user_id=65]Rule I Despise And I Can't Even Believe Is Being Considered and Makes Me Want to Murder the Commissioner

*Golden At-bat

[Centerfield]

Michael Kay, who complained that there should be a Golden AB type of rule because the Yankees had two good hitters, of course supported Manfred when the news broke, and has now backtracked.



The rule is so absolutely beyond stupid.



*Would the hitter being replaced lose his AB? Or would he then get to bat after the golden batter? If you did that, how the fuck would you fix your scorecard?

*What if you pulled a batter off the bench to be the Golden AB. Is he now burned? Or can you still PH with him later on?

*If your Golden Batter reaches, can you pinch run for him? Is he a golden runner? Is your golden runner burned? Or can he re-enter the game?

*If your Golden Batter is on base, who pinch runs for him when he comes to bat? Can you pick anyone to run for him? Or is it the last batted out? Is that runner now burned?

*Can you use your Golden AB to break up a perfect game/no hitter in the 9th? Or does that violate the unwritten rules?

*Can you use a player who has been subbed out as your Golden Batter?

*What if your Golden Batter gets hurt mid AB? Can you sub for him? What would stop a team from sending a HR hitter to take the first two swings, feign an injury, then replace him with a great 2 strike hitter?

*Can you negotiate in your contract that you get to be the Golden Batter? (and that way ensuring more ABs)

*Do hitting records get an asterisk if a player gets 150 extra ABs in a season?

*You announce your intent to use your Golden AB. The other team makes a pitching change. Can you pinch hit for your Golden Batter?

*WHAT IF YOUR GOLDEN HITTER IS THE GHOST RUNNER ON SECOND

[Frayed Knot]

=Centerfield post_id=180275 time=1733353138 user_id=65]
Michael Kay, who complained that there should be a Golden AB type of rule because the Yankees had two good hitters, of course supported Manfred when the news broke, and has now backtracked.

[Centerfield]

Also his entire premise that baseball is in trouble. Or that they're losing the younger audience. Baseball revenue is higher than ever. And while they may be losing a percentage of market share to other sports, that's inevitable as there are tons of other sports. There are still more people watching baseball than ever before, and ticket revenue is still high. Any claims that ticket sales are down have to be measured against the clubs' election to decrease seating and raise prices.

[metirish]

Right, this years play-offs had some of the best numbers in years

[Frayed Knot]

=metirish post_id=180283 time=1733362542 user_id=72]
Right, this years play-offs had some of the best numbers in years

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I like the limits on throws to first. I suspect about 85 percent of those were half-hearted lobs.



I thought I'd hate the pitch clock but have to agree it's been an improvement. Instant replay, too. (Well, replay.)

[rchurch314]

=Marshmallowmilkshake post_id=180287 time=1733365638 user_id=119]
I like the limits on throws to first. I suspect about 85 percent of those were half-hearted lobs.



I thought I'd hate the pitch clock but have to agree it's been an improvement. Instant replay, too. (Well, replay.)

[Edgy MD]

I was OK with a million throws to first. It was all part of the drama.



A pitcher has two opponents to worry about — the batter and the runner. He throws over a few times, gets booed by the crowd, and now he has three opponents on his mind.



If he's actually worried about he runner, and is throwing over in earnest, and the runner steals anyhow, an extra psychological edge is gained by the runner. If the runner is nailed, he gets an extra psychological boost,



A similar game goes down with the batter. If he's lobbing it over to stall or keep the batter guessing, and he gives up a hit to the batter, that's an extra psychological blow. If he gets the batter after that bullshit cat-and-mouse game, that's and extra boost for him, and the batter now has a bee in his bonnet.



Any problems I had with the effect upon the pace of the game, it's better when the fans and the players in the dugout express that by riding the pitcher, not by instituting a rule against him.



That the limit on throws over and the clock are now two new excuses for even shorter workdays for starting pitchers are more of those unintended consequences that such rules create. And the league is trying to engineer even more odd rules to combat that, instead of looking back at the situations they have created that has caused these super-short starting efforts.

[metsmarathon]

=Centerfield post_id=180275 time=1733353138 user_id=65]
Michael Kay, who complained that there should be a Golden AB type of rule because the Yankees had two good hitters, of course supported Manfred when the news broke, and has now backtracked.



The rule is so absolutely beyond stupid.



*Would the hitter being replaced lose his AB? Or would he then get to bat after the golden batter? If you did that, how the fuck would you fix your scorecard?

*What if you pulled a batter off the bench to be the Golden AB. Is he now burned? Or can you still PH with him later on?

*If your Golden Batter reaches, can you pinch run for him? Is he a golden runner? Is your golden runner burned? Or can he re-enter the game?

*If your Golden Batter is on base, who pinch runs for him when he comes to bat? Can you pick anyone to run for him? Or is it the last batted out? Is that runner now burned?

*Can you use your Golden AB to break up a perfect game/no hitter in the 9th? Or does that violate the unwritten rules?

*Can you use a player who has been subbed out as your Golden Batter?

*What if your Golden Batter gets hurt mid AB? Can you sub for him? What would stop a team from sending a HR hitter to take the first two swings, feign an injury, then replace him with a great 2 strike hitter?

*Can you negotiate in your contract that you get to be the Golden Batter? (and that way ensuring more ABs)

*Do hitting records get an asterisk if a player gets 150 extra ABs in a season?

*You announce your intent to use your Golden AB. The other team makes a pitching change. Can you pinch hit for your Golden Batter?

*WHAT IF YOUR GOLDEN HITTER IS THE GHOST RUNNER ON SECOND

[MFS62]

I think this comment from one of my Canadian* friends says it all, "My thought is that this is quite possibly the stupidest thing in the history of stupid things."



Later



* = Canadians are nice people. It takes a lot for them to throw an insult

[Edgy MD]

I propose the Denny's Rule: Free passes every time up if it's your birthday.

[MFS62]

NY Post reporting that Michael Kay is ending his radio show after 22 years.



https://nypost.com/2024/12/05/sports/michael-kays-espn-radio-show-ending-afternoon-run-after-22-years/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG_CMtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXs_ocJE7_eYm8WX739pUYMIp0C7eLntZ2H2AVnMOyiGcuac_vD0kk0u3Q_aem_Gr0pjbLn8qMNx5b-Tu15Gwhttps://nypost.com/2024/12/05/sports/michael-kays-espn-radio-show-ending-afternoon-run-after-22-years/?fbclid=IwY2xjawG_CMtleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXs_ocJE7_eYm8WX739pUYMIp0C7eLntZ2H2AVnMOyiGcuac_vD0kk0u3Q_aem_Gr0pjbLn8qMNx5b-Tu15Gw



IMO, the recent outrageous positions he has taken ("The best booth in NY", the golden At-bat) were his attempt to remain relevant (as if he ever was). Maybe the pushback finally got to him.

I actually heard his first show, by accident. I was stuck in a traffic jam and was searching for a traffic report. He said something about he had never used Ketchup or EZ-Pass. I turned it off and never listened to him again.

He filled the role of pompous blowhard sports radio talk show host very well.



Later

[kcmets]

He had a radio show?