MLB considering "Golden At-Bat" Rule

[SeeingEyeDog]

https://www.si.com/mlb/rob-manfred-buzz-golden-at-bat-rule-baseball

I hesitated to post this because I'm having such a difficult time believing that this is a "serious consideration". It is my hope they are merely "floating a balloon idea" here to see people's reaction and then will dispose of the idea in a few days. With all of the rule changes that The Game has seen since COVID made the owners realize baseball had been losing attendance for 20 years and they needed to take action, well...I haven't checked attendance figures since COVID but, I feel like The Game is in a better place because of those rule changes. But, this Golden At-Bat Rule, really reeks of desperation. Given human proclivities for "new things" it's important if you are trying to run a successful business that you are always taking the pulse of your customers/fans and always looking at ways to innovate your product/your game to keep people interested. The Golden At-Bat Rule is simply too much of a departure from fundamental baseball. Something like that is for the Savannah Bananas not MLB, respectfully...

~Dawg  

[JonnyCat]

1 hour ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

I'm having such a difficult time believing that this is a "serious consideration".

Me, too. I read this today with disbelief, as well. Why would they ever consider doing this? The article I read said that attendance this year has been the highest since 2017. So why the need for such a radical change. I read that many people are down on Rob Manfred, maybe they are right.

Since I've recently become a crusty old man, I've for the most part given up on professional sports. It's not the same game I grew up with. Actually, I've given up on pro sports a long time ago.

Oh, who am I kidding, I've been a crusty old man for a while now. 

[dumbdumb]

make the rules to the results you want. so what does MLB want to happen in the perfect game to them, and how many times do they want each team to be able to replicate the perfect game. all the time 100% or 10% of the time.

just adjust the strike zone high/low with the ADS system when it is fully implemented to get more action. action starts at the plate, so either lower the top of the zone, or raise the bottom of the zone or lower and raise it to make the historical average of 257 move upward to whatever number you think would make for a great game all the time. 275, 300.

how about 2 designated hitters. one for the pitcher and one for the guy who is just suppose to advance the runner with a grounder or bunt him over.

then where would you put 2 dh's. put one as 4th batter and the other at 9th as a rule.

i think strike zone modifications would work the best high/low. but, you have to be transparent and give the new y axis numbers each year so people know what they are. pitchers can adjust and you have to allow that the best pitchers in baseball may now have era's of 4 and below, not 3 and below.

 

[flyingron]

Yech.   A wild card.   Frankly, even coming from an American league upbringing, I was never fond of the designated hitter rule.   Having to decide whether to put to yank the pitcher in the batting order for a pinch hitter was part of the strategy of the game.

While the rate-of-play not only increases attendance but also general interest in the game (on TV or whatever), I'm not seeing how this helps anything unless you believe the game is so boring that you need to jack up the scoring.   While baseball isn't exactly basketball, it isn't soccer.

 

 

[SeeingEyeDog]

@JonnyCat, here's a link to year over year attendance, the attendance figures are on the right side of the table: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/misc.shtml

So, pre-COVID they had 68M, 2021 saw 45M, 2022 saw 64M, 2023 saw 70M and 2024 saw 71M. It is worth mentioning that MLB's best year for attendance was 2007 with 79M. Anybody recall anything special about 2007?

That same table also shows average game times on the far LEFT of the table. Since 1964, the best average for pace of play over 9 innings was in 1972 and it was 2:23. (I'm guessing fewer pitching changes?) The high since 1964 was ironically in 2020 (COVID) and it was 3:07. With all of the recent rule changes in 2024 we have gotten the average down to 2:36.

@dumbdumb...it's official, your name most decidedly does NOT check out. Strikes and outs moves ANY game of baseball along. I completely agree with your smartsmart post. The conversation about pace of play and the product overall begins and ends with expansion of the strike zone. Sure, "chicks dig the long ball" but pardon the innuendo...How much longball is "enough" longball? How much is too much?

Here's the year over year league HR totals:  https://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hihr6.shtml

1999 saw more HRs hit that year than any other...5,528 over 2,428 games. (The Steroid Era was 1994 - 2004.) It's a basic principle of supply and demand that the less there is of something, the more valuable and prized it becomes...just ask DeBeers, speaking of diamonds. I don't think anyone wants a return to Dead Ball Era HR production but more strikes and outs and fewer HRs is the optimum product in my opinion.

It's really strange here in 2024 having grown up and MLB was considered the least innovative sport and now, just in the last few years, they are making a bid to become the MOST innovative sport. Admittedly, I did not like the pitch clock rules but, now I'm a big supporter. I like this brand of baseball, it's just harder to get a beer at the ballpark now and not miss an inning. For me, the Golden At-Bat proposal is a bridge too far.

~Dawg

[dumbdumb]

you could also tinker with fence distances, maybe 5 feet at a time all over or shorter from deep right field to deep center to deep left field only. more home runs but also more balls off the fence for doubles triples or long singles here and there.

of course i do not think anyone wants a super slow pitch game of 30-25 scores with 10 home runs a piece either.

@SeeingEyeDog 2007 lots of teams in playoffs that were not in the year before, 3 players going for 500 dingers and bonds setting HR record.

[dumbdumb]

@SeeingEyeDog

or maybe, you might want to take another angle for 'special' with the 2007 season high attendance. although he had been re-instated to call up status in 2005 and 2006, 'full time' re-instatement did not occur until 2007 for the former umpire with allegedly one of the most well known strike 3 calls in all of baseball, ie Tom Hallion

and a you tube for you to enjoy

 

[BLWizzRanger]

I am leaning toward not liking the idea of a Golden At-Bat.  If a suggestion comes back to add a dancing ump or catches of foul balls by fans, then I would be a hard no.

[dumbdumb]

article with opinions

https://www.aol.com/sports/why-want-bastardize-game-mlb-141209077.html

 

[Richvee]

If this was Manfred's way of floating a weather balloon, it smashed to the ground faster than turkeys on Thanksgiving in Cincinnati  

[Jonump]

As god as my witness Andy, I thought turkeys could fly

[maven]

Could be that negotiations with the MLBPA are coming up (2025–26), and the billionaires are priming everyone to think that MLB is losing money.

 

[kylehutson]

Just saw this and knew I had to insert it into this conversation...

https://babylonbee.com/news/to-increase-excitement-mlb-to-allow-each-team-to-call-in-one-tactical-air-strike-on-outfield-per-game/

 

[Aging_Arbiter]

Dear Mr. Manfred (you senile old b@stard),

Baseball is a sport......Banana ball is entertainment.

[Richvee]

21 hours ago, kylehutson said:

Just saw this and knew I had to insert it into this conversation...

https://babylonbee.com/news/to-increase-excitement-mlb-to-allow-each-team-to-call-in-one-tactical-air-strike-on-outfield-per-game/

 

At publishing time, MLB sources confirmed that officials were also considering allowing each team to have a sniper shoot an opposing player with a tranquilizer dart during their at-bat.

[Aging_Arbiter]

Any Veterans in attendance at the game, must select which one will be elected to call in a tactical airstrike against the opposing team....... but only once per game.  Therefore, strategy will continue to play a role in the "sport".

[ilyazhito]

On 12/3/2024 at 9:08 PM, SeeingEyeDog said:

https://www.si.com/mlb/rob-manfred-buzz-golden-at-bat-rule-baseball

I hesitated to post this because I'm having such a difficult time believing that this is a "serious consideration". It is my hope they are merely "floating a balloon idea" here to see people's reaction and then will dispose of the idea in a few days. With all of the rule changes that The Game has seen since COVID made the owners realize baseball had been losing attendance for 20 years and they needed to take action, well...I haven't checked attendance figures since COVID but, I feel like The Game is in a better place because of those rule changes. But, this Golden At-Bat Rule, really reeks of desperation. Given human proclivities for "new things" it's important if you are trying to run a successful business that you are always taking the pulse of your customers/fans and always looking at ways to innovate your product/your game to keep people interested. The Golden At-Bat Rule is simply too much of a departure from fundamental baseball. Something like that is for the Savannah Bananas not MLB, respectfully...

~Dawg  

I agree. The Golden At-Bat is nonsense, especially because this rule messes up the batting order, and in turn, interferes with the ability to enforce the Batting Out of Turn (BOOT/BOO) rule. 

[MadMax]

A “Golden At-Bat” is a nod towards the Game Console / Tik-Tok generation(s). 

JomBoy has made a social media (SM, hf.) killing off single events, broken down into the finest detail, scrutinized and analyzed to minutiae. That’s how today’s generations consume baseball now. During the regular season, all that these nascent fans care about is the score at the end, and whether or not it gets their preferred team closer to the playoffs. Then, they also show favorite to singular, significant events during the game; we baseball purists can surely admire a perfectly executed small-ball sacrifice, but if your team doesn’t win – or if you don’t have any stakes or wagers on it – who cares? 

MLB, ever since the NFL overtook it as America’s most watched sport, has been constantly peering over the fence, trying to figure out how to share (or wrestle back) the public’s interest, but they still have a skeleton buried under the woodshed in their backyard – gambling. The NFL has created a series of structures that sports-betting can really and dynamically “work” with, and keep people engaged on nearly every game on the docket – including a Thursday Night game with Cincinnati vs Jacksonville. 

The other thing that “plagues” baseball (not my sentiment) has to do with the inverted power dynamic… when the game is on the line, at its most dramatic, the Defensive manager can (potentially) bring in his best pitcher… to face… hmm. Well, it will be whoever is scheduled to bat, who may or may not be the best (offensive) hitter on that team’s roster. And, who hasn’t heard the lament of a club’s fan base lament over So-and-So striking / batting out to lose the game, with the team’s “best” player in the on-deck circle? 

We say, “that’s life”. That doesn’t stick with today’s generations. They can change / alter / rig / cheat the game (often a console game, mind you) to arrange that “ideal” confrontation, and then repeat it again and again and again until success… until that dopamine hit. 

This Golden At-Bat proposal ain’t comin’ from the players, it’s comin’ from observers of / analysts of / marketers to the fans. 

 

[Richvee]

1 hour ago, MadMax said:

A “Golden At-Bat” is a nod towards the Game Console / Tik-Tok generation(s). 

JomBoy has made a social media (SM, hf.) killing off single events, broken down into the finest detail, scrutinized and analyzed to minutiae. That’s how today’s generations consume baseball now. During the regular season, all that these nascent fans care about is the score at the end, and whether or not it gets their preferred team closer to the playoffs. Then, they also show favorite to singular, significant events during the game; we baseball purists can surely admire a perfectly executed small-ball sacrifice, but if your team doesn’t win – or if you don’t have any stakes or wagers on it – who cares? 

MLB, ever since the NFL overtook it as America’s most watched sport, has been constantly peering over the fence, trying to figure out how to share (or wrestle back) the public’s interest, but they still have a skeleton buried under the woodshed in their backyard – gambling. The NFL has created a series of structures that sports-betting can really and dynamically “work” with, and keep people engaged on nearly every game on the docket – including a Thursday Night game with Cincinnati vs Jacksonville. 

The other thing that “plagues” baseball (not my sentiment) has to do with the inverted power dynamic… when the game is on the line, at its most dramatic, the Defensive manager can (potentially) bring in his best pitcher… to face… hmm. Well, it will be whoever is scheduled to bat, who may or may not be the best (offensive) hitter on that team’s roster. And, who hasn’t heard the lament of a club’s fan base lament over So-and-So striking / batting out to lose the game, with the team’s “best” player in the on-deck circle? 

We say, “that’s life”. That doesn’t stick with today’s generations. They can change / alter / rig / cheat the game (often a console game, mind you) to arrange that “ideal” confrontation, and then repeat it again and again and again until success… until that dopamine hit. 

This Golden At-Bat proposal ain’t comin’ from the players, it’s comin’ from observers of / analysts of / marketers to the fans. 

 

Point taken... But when this happens, the extraordinary becomes ordinary and loses it's luster. The Trout/Ohtani matchup in the WBC was unforgettable because it doesn't happen every night. Freddy Freeman doesn't hit a game winning grand slam because because Ohtani gets another chance. Ozzie Smith doesn't hit a series winning HR because he doesn't get to bat. But I get it. The video game generation doesn't want to wait all year for a magical moment...They want to recreate one every night. 

[dumbdumb]

article from May where it looks like they moved the top of the y axis in triple a from the year before from 51 to 53.5.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/mlb/robot-umpire-challenge-system-spring-training-2026-regular-season-possible/3914482/?os=avdf&ref=app

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5938669/2024/11/21/mlb-robot-umpires-testing-spring-training/

[Velho]

On 12/7/2024 at 11:46 AM, Richvee said:

But when this happens, the extraordinary becomes ordinary and loses it's luster

This is how I feel about interleague play (and more balancde schedule). It was incredible when it was the first time teams played that year in the WS.