Everybody who hated MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s “golden at-bat” concept (i.e. baseball followers who learn the information this week) can apparently relaxation simple.
Manfred poured chilly water on the concept Thursday, just some days after his comments in support of the idea started circulating, per MLB.com. Talking at an occasion on the Italian American Baseball Basis in New York, he made clear the concept is nowhere near changing into a actuality.
From MLB.com:
“For people who find themselves involved about that type of change, I might make a few factors,” Manfred stated. “No. 1: It has come out that I’ve spoken publicly about this type of change just a few years in the past, that I used to be not significantly in favor of it, and that continues to be the case. However extra importantly: To go from the dialog stage to this really displaying up in Main League Baseball is a really, very lengthy street. In the event you don’t love the concept, I would not be that involved about it proper now.”
The talk in regards to the golden at-bat started Monday, when The Athletic’s Jayson Stark drew consideration to feedback Manfred made on an episode of “The Varsity” podcast with John Ourand in October. The feedback had been made in passing throughout a 37-minute dialog and drew little discover on the time, when the MLB postseason was nonetheless ongoing.
Nevertheless, introduced this week, the concept received loads of consideration. This is what Manfred stated:
“There are a number of issues which might be being talked about on the market,” Manfred stated of discussions round rule adjustments. “One in all them — there was just a little buzz round it at an house owners’ assembly — was the concept of a golden at-bat — that’s placing your greatest participant on the market out of order at a specific level within the recreation. That rule and issues like which might be within the conversation-only stage.”
Primarily, Manfred was suggesting a system during which the Los Angeles Dodgers might swap out certainly one of their weaker hitters for Shohei Ohtani in a key at-bat late within the recreation, whereas nonetheless holding Ohtani in his standard spot within the batting order.
Manfred has mentioned plenty of rule adjustments throughout his tenure as commissioner and instituted fairly just a few, largely with success. Among the many adjustments added are the pitch clock, the three-batter minimal for relievers, the bounds on pick-off makes an attempt, the extra-inning ghost runner and limits on defensive shifts.
A few of these concepts had been controversial, however had their supporters inside and outdoors the sport. This one, nevertheless, noticed an nearly universally unfavorable response. Stark talked to plenty of gamers who had been towards it, reminiscent of Freddie Freeman:
“No, no, no,” Freeman instructed Stark. “I’m old-school, you recognize, at the same time as a younger man. I like baseball. I’m a baseball purist. So I’m gonna go no.”
Followers on social media had been equally important, reminiscent of in this Reddit thread. Primarily, followers did not like the concept of constructing a change purely so as to add drama, particularly in a sport the place custom is important to the sport’s material.
Manfred insisted the concept was little greater than the germ of an concept, whereas wanting different leaders within the sport to proceed brainstorming concepts to enhance the sport. From ESPN:
“It was a really preliminary dialog which did create some buzz,” Manfred reiterated on Thursday. “I do encourage the house owners to have conversations in regards to the recreation.”
