Will the "Golden At-Bat" Be the Thing That Finally Destroys Baseball?

[notoriousgod71]

Only way I'm for this is if we resign Margot and it counts as a PH appearance.

 

HONESTLY, stupid rule. I already turn games off after the ninth inning. I will not watch another inning if this becomes a reality.

[cmoss84]

But what if the Platinum Pitcher comes in to face the Golden Batter? It will be like a Marvel comic. 

By the way...I am WAY ahead of Manfred. I've been using a Golden Inning for years...its when I have to pick the part of the lineup to miss because I am taking a 90 second piss in the troth. And getting a refill on suds. 

[mnfireman]

No to the "Golden At-Bat", as well as the "Manfred" man on 2B in extra's.

And get rid of the deferred $$$ and big signing bonus's designed to cheat the Luxury Tax, MLB doesn't need any more All-Star teams other then the two playing the All-Star Game. Viewership and attendance will suffer outside of CHI, NY, LA and a few other cities if the product on the field can't compete with these cities/teams.

[Heiny]

LOL, no seriously!  LOL.  This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  Every time Manfred opens his mouth the baseball world gets dumber.  How is this guy the commissioner of MLB?  Oh, wait,  this is the way this whole country is going.  The world and this country is getting dumber by the day.  Are there any real baseball people still out there?  It's getting doubtful.  Sheeesh.

 

[theBOMisthebomb]

It sounds like beer league/bush league softball nonsense.

[Patzky]

Cue the Platinum Intentional Walk, sponsored by Adidas 

[Fatbat]

Horrible idea!!!!! Puke 🤮 

[mnfireman]

[oregontwin]

I think in all of the talk about the game not appealing to younger people that the real reason for that is mostly overlooked and no changes to the game are likely to fix the problem. We diehards grew up playing baseball on sandlots, back yards, pastures or wherever and whenever we could find space and gather a few friends. Todays young people grow up playing video games and never develop a love for the game of baseball.

[dxpavelka]

I think it's a great idea.  Just don't think it will go far enough.  Why limit it to players on the active roster?  Wouldn't the Giants love to throw Barry Bonds out there in a couple key spots?  I'm sure Tony O's got a couple good swings left.  Rod Carew's got some heart problem's but he's not blind yet.  And why not dead guys?  Did you see Aaron Judge struggle in the World Series. Babe Ruth could have gotten the same 3 RBI as Judge did.  And why limit it to your own players.  Let a manager call on a player from the other team.  Aaron Boone could send Freddie Freeman to the dish instead of Judge.  And to keep it on the up and up, if the guy from the other team makes an out, his team loses automatically.  See we just added another component to shortening game times as well.  This is gonna be great.

[The Great Hambino]

At least no one will have to watch it since no one can watch the games.  

I hope no one shows Manfred the movie Baseketball. He'd react to that like Cartman reacting to the History Channel

[Fezig]

I will join the Boomers and walk away from baseball completely if this happens. The boomers tell me shuffleboard is quite exciting and fast paced.

[Mark G]

18 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

One use per game is 162 extra PAs. That's not "pretty small". Judge hit a HR every 12 PAs last year. Another 162 PAs would lead to another 13 or 14 HRs. Now he's threatening the HR record (71 or 72 total). In 2022 he hit one every 11 PAs. If he had another 162 PAs he'd have hit another 15. That would've had him at 77 HRs on the year. Now he's set the HR record. (This all obviously ignores time missed to injuries, etc.)

"Does not count for statistical purposes?" Yeah, pretending things didn't actually happen has never really worked. If Aaron Judge hits 77 HRs in a season with the extra "Golden Bat" ABs people are going to debate the legitimacy of the record, but they aren't going to say he hit 62 HRs, they're going to say he hit 77 HRs. Because he hit 77 HRs. The back of his baseball card is going to say he hit 77 HRs. 

162 extra times stepping to the plate is a significant number of extra times stepping to the plate.

You put into words everything I was thinking.  At what point are we going to have to put an asterisk by every plate appearance the "golden bat" player makes?  Or by the season stats?  Got 200 RBI's last year?  A hell of a boost to your WAR, don't you think?  Of course, who would that replacement be?  The guy you batted for?  I'm sorry, I have to go lay down now, my head is starting to spin.  🤕

[Doctor Wu]

17 hours ago, mrcharlie said:

And what is this...embiggening?

Ha! That word stumped me too. Is that really a word .... or another Mandfredism?

[Doctor Wu]

Golden At Bat? Horrible idea, and a horribly named idea. 

[mluebker]

I hope I live long enough to see someone start a new league where they actually play baseball.

[snyder]

Maybe the reason young people aren't watching baseball is because they literally can't watch the games. Put the games back on tv on ALL the streaming services and cable providers and don't make people pay a couple hundred dollars just to have access watch the games.

[FargoFanMan]

You want to add gimmicks into the “thinking man’s game.” Typical. I suggest a few things to grow the game to younger people. 
1.) focus on families and kids attending games. This means more affordable options as far as tickets, food and parking. In 2024 the average family of 4 spent $204 for one game. That includes average tickets, 2 beers, 2 sodas and 4 hotdogs. In 2004 it was $115. Inflation is a thing yes. But a 78% increase over 20 years? It’s simply unaffordable for a family to attend numerous games a year. Answer: Cater to fans. Not making money. I keep hearing about how they’re losing young fans yet they’re making more money. 
2.) Allow the fans to actually watch the game. If MLB would have been more focused on fixing the viewing options and getting out ahead of the dying cable industry rather than trying to sign the RSN’s that made them the most money they could have been sitting better now. Instead they kicked the van down the road till the company literally went bankrupt. Fans were unable to even watch the team that literally played down the road. What are NFL fans able to do that MLB teams aren’t? Watch the local team every game in the most simple way possible. On the local TV station. If they would have embraced streaming services when they were young and not huge billion dollar conglomerates maybe this whole streaming thing wouldn’t have been such a monumental task. 
3.) put good baseball in front of more eyes. Not by implementing salary caps or minimum and maximums. Not by “punishing” teams for “tanking” but by rewarding teams for improving. Maybe give an extra draft pick for a team that improved their minor league ranking. Maybe reward a team that made a postseason for the first time in a few years with a bigger cut of the shared revenue. Instead teams are undercut for rebuilding by losing draft position right when they need it. Are they tanking? Probably not.  Are we to believe that “tanking” is so rampant that we need to punish teams? Other than Pittsburgh and Oakland who is “tanking”? I believe carrots work better than sticks when it comes to this. 
4.) exciting game play. Try to gear the game away from strikeouts and home runs. More stolen bases, more hit and runs, more doubles, more triples. Not with stupid changes but subtle calculated ones. 
 

[dxpavelka]

On 12/4/2024 at 6:05 AM, Mark G said:

You put into words everything I was thinking.  At what point are we going to have to put an asterisk by every plate appearance the "golden bat" player makes?  Or by the season stats?  Got 200 RBI's last year?  A hell of a boost to your WAR, don't you think?  Of course, who would that replacement be?  The guy you batted for?  I'm sorry, I have to go lay down now, my head is starting to spin.  🤕

And all those extra stats are going to come at a cost at contract time.  But I'm sure none of that cost will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher ticket, concession and parking.

[Twins GFP]

On 12/3/2024 at 9:27 AM, Vanimal46 said:

This proposed rule change literally comes from the Savannah Bananas. They do this in their league. The moment that MLB adopts a banana ball rule, the Savannah Bananas have won. 

The Savannah Bananas have already won.  How else would Minnesota individuals know so much about a an independent team.

Don't knock ludicrous ideas.  They can start discussions that lead to logical changes.  All this talk of length of games being too long, yet instant replay is still adopted, which probably adds 10 minutes of down time to every game.  You never know where ideas and discussions can lead...

[mrcharlie]

48 minutes ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The Savannah Bananas have already won.  How else would Minnesota individuals know so much about a an independent team.

Don't knock ludicrous ideas.  They can start discussions that lead to logical changes.  All this talk of length of games being too long, yet instant replay is still adopted, which probably adds 10 minutes of down time to every game.  You never know where ideas and discussions can lead...

The Bananas have a huge following.  That following is based on entertainment.  The  quality of play is second to fan engagement and fun for all.  I take MLB seriously, but when I attend a Bananas game I want to catch that foul ball for out #3!!

[Vanimal46]

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The Savannah Bananas have already won.  How else would Minnesota individuals know so much about a an independent team.

Don't knock ludicrous ideas.  They can start discussions that lead to logical changes.  All this talk of length of games being too long, yet instant replay is still adopted, which probably adds 10 minutes of down time to every game.  You never know where ideas and discussions can lead...

I’m all for ideas that speed up the game and make it more accessible for everyone. I don’t like this specific idea. 

The Bananas are so popular because they run laps around the MLB in social media content. Choreographed dances and gimmicks is more important. The baseball game itself is secondary. No one seriously tracks the Party Animals’ record against the Bananas.  

[Twins GFP]

28 minutes ago, mrcharlie said:

The Bananas have a huge following.  That following is based on entertainment.  The  quality of play is second to fan engagement and fun for all.  I take MLB seriously, but when I attend a Bananas game I want to catch that foul ball for out #3!!

I am sorry to burst your bubble, but all professional sports are entertainment.  The "competition" is secondary to enjoyment and making money.

The age of podcasts have really shed light on the behind-the-curtain aspects of professional sports in America, but especially the NBA.  Hearing the players talk about how games are officiated, how rules are enforced, etc. is amazing.

If MLB was more concerned about the competition itself, it would legislate out manager/umpire arguments, on-field fights (especially RP running in from the bullpen), umpires grandstanding on the field, and anything to do with time restraints.

[mrcharlie]

On 12/5/2024 at 9:25 AM, Fire Dan Gladden said:

I am sorry to burst your bubble, but all professional sports are entertainment.  The "competition" is secondary to enjoyment and making money.

The age of podcasts have really shed light on the behind-the-curtain aspects of professional sports in America, but especially the NBA.  Hearing the players talk about how games are officiated, how rules are enforced, etc. is amazing.

If MLB was more concerned about the competition itself, it would legislate out manager/umpire arguments, on-field fights (especially RP running in from the bullpen), umpires grandstanding on the field, and anything to do with time restraints.

Agree...fire the bum!  HE is everything but entertaining.