MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal Not a Fan of 'Extreme' Golden At-Bat Rule

Andy Nesbitt | 14 Hours Ago

Ken Rosenthal is not a fan of this possible rule change in baseball. / @FoulTerritoryTV

Major League Baseball is in the middle of its offseason but the league's commissioner, Rob Manfred, made big news Monday night when he talked about a possible new rule change that he claims had a little buzz around it at the recent owners' meeting. It's called, the Golden At-Bat, and if it's ever implemented it will change baseball unlike any other rule before it.

The rule would allow for a team to choose one at-bat a game to use its best hitter no matter where they were in the lineup. An example would be if the Dodgers found themselves in a key at-bat late in a game, the could plug in the likes of Shohei Ohtani or Mookie Betts even if they had just been up or were set to be up later in the inning.

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal spoke Tuesday about the idea of the Golden At-Bat rule and said he's not a fan of it at all.

"My instinct is that it's not baseball," Rosenthal said on the baseball show Foul Territory. "It’s not the way the game has been played for 100-plus years and I just have a problem with it from that perspective.”

Rosenthal said rule changes like the pitch clock and extended bases have been good for the game but this new one would go a bit too far.

"I feel it’s a little bit too much for me," Rosenthal said. "It’s just too far and I’m all for exploring different ideas, things that will make the game better; this one to me just strikes me as, again, extreme." 

Here are his full comments on the rule:

.@Ken_Rosenthal weighs in on the rumored Golden Bat rule:

"My instinct is - it's not baseball" pic.twitter.com/ATKvMgcejN

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 3, 2024

Chances are this rule will never become a thing, but it would sure be weird if it did.

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