Detroit Tigers 'Golden Batter' Title Could Fall on Outfielder Riley Greene
The Detroit Tigers would have to think long and hard about who their "Golden Batter" would be if MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred came out today and said, "We are instituting the 'Golden Batter' rule for the 2025 season."
It is something that the owners have discussed of late, albeit not to implement as soon as 2025, and it would change the entire landscape of Major League Baseball.
For those unaware, the "Golden Batter" or "Golden At-Bat" rule would allow a team to let any player on their roster hit at any time once a game, even if they are already in the lineup and it is not their turn to do so.
Think back to the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where the final out of the whole shebang came down to (then) teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. It could be that situation but on a per-game basis.
For the Tigers, the options are not as abundant as some teams, but one does stand above the rest in young outfielder Riley Greene.
For his career, Greene has batted .267/.340/.434 with 40 home runs, 153 RBI, and a 118 OPS+ across 1,418 plate appearances in 329 games. Of their current roster, Greene is easily the best hitter of them all, and is still improving every year.
A runner on third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tie game and at the bottom of the lineup? Nah, here comes Greene instead of Javier Baez.
The "Golden Batter" is a concept that the Savannah Bananas instituted into their exhibition games, along with all of the other wacky rules they have. The batter is out if a fan in the stands catches a foul ball. If there is a base on balls, the batter must sprint to first base and advance as far as they can while the defense throws the ball around to each fielder before they can attempt to make the out—exhibition/sports entertainment type things.
Manfred did clarify that the concept is only in the very early stages of discussion among himself and the owners. Even with how much baseball has changed during Manfred's tenure as commissioner, this may be a step too far.
Regardless of whether this does come to be or not, it is still a fun discussion to have and an interesting exercise to think of who the "Golden Batter" would be for each team.
For Detroit, it would take some time to think, but they would eventually come to the conclusion of Riley Greene.
