NEW YORK – Speaking at the Italian American Baseball Foundation‘s annual gala Thursday night, Major League Baseball commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. implied that the “golden at-bat rule” that has been floated as a possible rule change is not something fans should lose sleep over.
After being introduced by former MLB manager Joe Torre, Manfred addressed the proposed rule, which would allow a team to send any player to the batter’s box regardless of that player’s slot in the batting order once a game. It’s one of several special rules used by the Savannah Bananas, a barnstorming team featuring former minor leaguers, that blend baseball with entertainment.
While the proposed rule has been widely decried by baseball purists, Manfred implied that fans should be too worried about the “golden at-bat” rule coming to MLB any time soon.
“For those of you who have ‘golden at-bat’ concerns, put your head on your pillow and sleep soundly tonight,” Manfred said at the annual IABF gala.
Under Manfred’s leadership, MLB has implemented several rule changes, including the pitch clock, aimed at improving the pace of play, and the so-called “ghost runner rule,” which puts a runner on second base at the start of every inning once a game reaches extra frames.
The pitch clock rule has shortened the length of MLB games by an average of 25 minutes from the 2022 season, the last season when the game was played without the pitch clock and the average MLB game lasted three hours and three minutes, to 2024, when the average MLB game lasted two hours and 36 minutes.
Based on Manfred’s comments Thursday night, it certainly sounds like the golden at-bat rule will stay on the banana boat for the time being.
Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of Baseball, spoke about the golden at-bat rule as he accepted an award from the Italian American Baseball Foundation. Credit: Cono Corvino, IABF
