Why do we want to bastardize our game?’: MLB players and managers join criticism of Golden At-Bat proposal
Jamie Barton, CNN
Wed, December 4, 2024 at 9:12 AM EST·4 min read
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Picture the scene. It’s the bottom of the ninth, the
Los Angeles Dodgers are down one with two outs and two men on base. Enrique Hernández is due up, but manager Dave Roberts sits him down and sends star man
Shohei Ohtani to the plate instead.
That is the essence of MLB commissioner
Rob Manfred’s Golden At-Bat proposal, which he floated in late October during an appearance on The Varsity with John Ourand. The rule would allow each team one chance per game to swap in its best hitter for an at-bat, even if it is not his turn.
“There are a variety of (rule change ideas) that are being talked about out there,”
Manfred said on the podcast. “One of them – there was a little buzz around it at an owners’ meeting – was the idea of a Golden At-Bat.”
While Manfred was quick to remind listeners that the suggestion was “in the conversation-only stage right now,” that hasn’t stopped various figures from around the league from criticizing the proposal since then.