MLB's latest proposed gimmick is an embarrassment for the league

Depending on who you ask, some of MLB's recent rule changes have been "successful". Sure, games are shorter with the pitch clock and we don't have super long extra inning games anymore with the Manfred Man. But those results are based on the idea that baseball is, or has been, broken and needs to be fixed.

MLB has its problems, there's no argument there. The biggest issue, if you're asking me, is that we still have umpires calling balls and strikes at pathetically bad rates. There's an Automated Balls and Strikes system in the minors that works, and that solves a genuine problem (umpires just guessing at pitches and swinging games with their missed calls), but MLB has thus far refused to implement the solution in the majors.

But this most recent proposed rule change is a step...no, it's several miles too far. There's apparently talk from the league about implementing what's being called the "Golden At-Bat" rule, which would allow teams to bat players out of order to try to win games in big moments.

For now, there's no real clarity on the specifics of it. It's possible the idea would allow trailing teams to use this rule in the later innings, but there's no hard and fast proposal just yet. But the fact that we're floating this idea out there to get public input on it shows just how far removed from reality the league office is.

MLB is losing its mind with Golden At Bat rule proposal

Jayson Stark wrote about this topic over at The Athletic on Monday. Stark spoke with former manager Joe Maddon about the Golden At-Bat rule, to which Maddon said "Who are we trying to serve with this? And what is the purpose of the whole thing". An astute question, Joe.

The answer to Maddon's question is, of course, the television networks. TV revenue is arguably the answer to all of the questions that have been asked about MLB's recent rule changes. Shorten the games so networks can go live with other content, right? Now we have the idea that we want every late-game at bat to be like the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout matchup from the World Baseball Classic in 2023? It's a terrible idea, and we'd be naive to think it would be rolled out effectively.

To MLB's point no, Seranthony Dominguez vs. Alex Verdugo in a big spot in the bottom of the 9th doesn't have the same selling power as if you had Aaron Judge at the plate. But this idea to let teams bat players out of order is so deeply against the fabric of the sport that it's no longer baseball at that point. We may as well just be playing Blernsball.

MLB thinks it has a problem with young fans. Specifically that it's having trouble getting younger folks to engage with the sport. It's fair to acknowledge that the league has to find a way to keep the younger generations interested in the league, but there are other, more effective ways to do that than to upend the sport entirely.

If Rob Manfred wants to leave a lasting legacy on MLB, mission accomplished. It's a shockingly miserable legacy, but nobody will ever forget about him. But if baseball wants to cut off its nose to spite its face, it can't be surprised when it doesn't like what it sees in the mirror. This proposed change might occasionally be good for the TV networks, but it'll be horrifically bad for baseball fans if it actually gets implemented.