Discussing New Rule That Could Come to MLB, Braves-Related Scenarios

The Atlanta Braves would have to consider some new strategies if MLB implements this new rule

This new rule could change how the sport is played / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Major League Baseball could be implementing a rule that would alter the game of baseball as we know it. 

According to The Athletic’s Jason Stark, commissioner Rob Mandred said the league has tossed around the idea of adding what has been called “the golden at-bat.” 

To sum it up in a nutshell, the golden at-bat allows a team to choose one at-bat in every game to send its best hitter to the plate even if it wasn’t that guy’s turn to hit. This should immediately stand out in your mind as heavily altering how the game is played. 

Imagine this from an Atlanta Braves perspective. It’s the bottom of the ninth, and the bottom third of the order is due up. But manager Brian Snitker can choose to send Matt Olson to the plate once there is a runner in scoring position. He can do this one time, so for this situation to work out, he has to sit on it the entire game regardless of what happens in the first eight innings. 

Well, I say that, but that could still also not be the case. That’s one of the scenarios that could happen. Stark listed a few ways the rule could be worded, and each one has its implications. 

Here are the ones that Stark has heard: 

• Each team gets to pick one at-bat — at any point in the game, but only once — to play its Golden AB card. Aka, the version described a moment ago in the hypothetical Braves scenario. 
• Each team gets one Golden AB per game but it cannot be used until the seventh inning or later.
• A team that is trailing (or tied) in the ninth or later gets to use a Golden AB. 

Stark also mentioned a potential loophole that would allow a player to bat twice in a row. So why wait for Olson to come in when there is a runner in scoring position when he can put himself on? Hypothetically, we have no idea how the rules would address what to do with the runner on base. This scenario didn’t come up in Stark’s story. His hypothetical was Bobby Witt Jr. getting out but then getting to bat again immediately. 

There is a lot to sort out before this can even begin to be considered as a rule. 

I get the logic. It creates more exciting moments that involve stars, and that in theory is a good thing. Stars creating big moments is good for the product. Times are changing too. I get all that. 

But at some point, you’re just turning baseball into a different sport. Sure, baseball has had very different rules in its history. But that was back when the game was evolving into what we know as baseball today - before we really settled on what is baseball. 

Former Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said it best when Stark asked him about the rule. 

“Let’s just play six innings and do a Home Run Derby for the last three.” 

At some point, it’s not the sport anymore. If baseball has to change its identity and start to become something else, the game is lost. 

Fans are also not asking for this. 

One of the biggest dilemmas facing the game right now is the accessibility of games on local TV. The Braves will be with Diamond Sports Group for now. But many fans want to be able to subscribe to MLB TV and not have their local team blacked out. 

MLB players could also be marketed better too. There are ways to attract people to the game without turning it into a different game.