Golden At Bat?

Ghost runner. Check. Bigger bases. Check. Time clock. Check.  Limit pickoff throws. Check. Extra playoff rounds. Check.

Ads on uniforms. Check. Ads on the bases. Check. Ads on the mound. Check. 

Playing games in cornfields, stadiums from the Negro Leagues, Mexico City. Check, check, and check. 

Now the Lords of Baseball are “just talking about” the Golden At Bat, where once a game a team can send up their best hitter even if it’s not his turn.

In my former co-ed softball league we used to have a name for that...

We called it cheating.

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The Golden At Bat. Game on the line. Send up the guy with the highest AGHAB. A made for TV moment in EVERY GAME! The kids will love it!

Well, Commissioner Manfred claims it’s about making the game more exciting for the kids, but we all know who the game is being made more exciting for… the gamblers. 

I'm sure it will come with a commercial break to build the suspense like when they cut away when a relief pitcher is brought in but it will really be about giving extra time for people to get their bets down.

It’s not that big a stretch to imagine a Red Zone like channel called Golden Time that just focusses on “Golden At Bats”. Talking heads building tension about when a manager should use it and then screaming about how they blew it.  

Oh joy. 

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We won't see it this year, after all it's just in the "discussion phase". 

There are questions, of course, that will need to be worked out such as...

What if the guy you want to use is already on base?

Can the pitcher intentionally walk him?

And, for the purists, also known as people who give a crap about the integrity of the game... 

Do the RBI’s count the same in the stats? Because giving one or two guys on the team an extra 130-140 at bats a year with runners in scoring position is going to skew that fairly heavily. The Home Run record? ERAs?

And... Will they eventually use a larger juiced "Golden Ball" and make the pitcher have to throw underhand? 

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Why not go all the way? Institute the Diamond Do-Over. The Manfred Mulligan. Once a game a manager can say “That at bat didn’t count.” Combine it with the Golden AB and let Soto get up for a third try.

Don't worry. We won't see these changes for a while. At least until they figure out the most important question of all... 

If Soto has already driven in two runs and it’s the tenth inning and Boone puts Soto in as the Golden At Bat and he drives in the Ghost Runner after using the Manfred Mulligan will Fan Duel still pay on Soto 3+ RBIs for the game?

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Check please.