Yankees Announcer Michael Kay Defends Rob Manfred's 'Golden At-Bat' Proposal

Karl Rasmussen | 13 Hours Ago

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred talks with media at George M. Steinbrenner Field / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

MLB fans collectively raised their eyebrows in disbelief after Rob Manfred recently indicated on a podcast that there was some "buzz" at a recent owners meeting about implementing a new rule, the "Golden At-Bat."

The rule change, if it somehow ends up getting adopted by MLB, would enable teams to send up a batter of their choice––almost certainly their best hitter––once per game regardless of where they are in the batting order.

The idea of the Golden At-Bat making its way to MLB generated plenty of discussion among fans and media members alike. Almost all of them were grossly in opposition of such a drastic change to America's pastime, except for one rather vocal individual––New York Yankees announcer Michael Kay.

During the latest episode of The Michael Kay Show, Kay dove into the topic of the Golden Rule, and somewhat surprisingly came to the defense of Manfred by encouraging such a rule change.

"Is it perfect? No. Would I sign off on it? Probably wouldn't. But imagine the outcry because a guy is trying to do something to juice a game that needs to be juiced," Kay said. "And all the people who are saying this is like sacrilege, guess what? We got you. It's the young people, we don't have them. So, we have to turn the ninth inning into an event where your best player is going up against the close. And you see no value in that, because 'nothing can change in baseball' because it's not a sport, it's a religion."

ICYMI on @TMKSESPN:@RealMichaelKay gives his thoughts on Rob Manfred’s floating idea of a new “Golden At-Bat” rule for MLB. pic.twitter.com/c9TCExN3dc

— ESPN New York (@ESPNNewYork) December 3, 2024

"You all have to get your heads out of your butts."

Kay was fired up while coming to the defense of Manfred, whom the ESPN radio host says is just trying to find a way to revitalize a sport and recapture the attention the younger generation of fans in order to keep eyeballs on the game.

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