Manfred considers ‘Livening up the game’
Happy Hump-day Athletics Nation.
Is the “Golden At-Bat” in our future? Before we get into this new development out of the Commissioner’s Office, let’s flash back to the final at-bat of the 2021 World Baseball Classic (WBC). It was March 21 and with two outs and the game on the line, Mike Trout came up to bat against his MLB teammate and friend Shohei Ohtani. What ultimately happened was irrelevant, but unforgettable to those of us watching, was the pure drama of the moment. Two generational players in a showdown for the ages. It’s this level of drama that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is hoping to generate each game with the “Golden At-bat.” The concept is as simple as it is controversial; a team could choose one at-bat in every game to send its best hitter to the plate even if it weren’t that player’s turn to hit. Manfred has said the idea is still in the discussion stages but there was “some buzz” around the concept at the owner’s meeting in November. It seems likely that this would be tested in the minors before it would, if ever, be implemented in the bigs. In my humble opinion, this falls into the “you’re trying too hard to make me like you” category. Since we haven’t seen any of the rules surrounding the proposal, we have no idea if it would be limited to the final innings of the game, if a team must be trailing to use it, or if any other limitations might be placed on the at-bat.
I’ve been watching baseball for more than fifty years and I’ve seen my fair share of amazing moments in big games and not-so-big games alike. Some of the most heroic sports moments come from the players we’d least expect to shine in crucial circumstances. I don’t think Manfred can manufacture these memories the way he thinks he can.
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