MLB commissioner Rob Manfred responded to speculation that the league might be considering a new “Golden At-Bat” rule.
Manfred spoke at the Italian American Baseball Foundation’s annual gala on Thursday, and briefly mentioned the controversial idea that had gone viral this week. The commissioner made clear that such a rule change is not on the table, at least not anytime soon.
“For those of you who have ‘Golden At-Bat’ concerns, put your head on your pillow and sleep soundly tonight,” Manfred said, via Leif Skodnick of World Baseball Network.
Manfred tried to cool down the speculation after opening the door to it in the first place.
“To go from the conversation stage to this actually showing up in MLB is a very long road,” Manfred told the Yes Network in an interview (h/t ESPN’s Jesse Rogers). “You don’t like the idea? I wouldn’t be too concerned about it right now.”
“It was a very preliminary conversation which did create some buzz. I do encourage the owners to have conversations about the game.
“It has come out that I have spoken publicly about this kind of change years ago, that I was not particularly in favor of it. That remains the case.”
In a podcast appearance several months back, the commissioner said there had been “a little buzz” about implementing a rule that would allow teams a one-time chance to send a hitter of their choice to the plate at any point in the game. The resurfaced comments went viral, and baseball fans on social media overwhelmingly opposed such a change.
Manfred has overseen a number of recent rule changes to a mixed reception, and more are likely coming. The Golden At-Bat idea is almost universally unpopular. Perhaps he was simply floating a trial balloon when he made his initial comments. If he was, he has a pretty clear answer to how fans would respond to it.
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