Could baseball experiment with a “Golden At-Bat”?

Could you send your best hitter up when he’s most needed?

In Game 5 of the series-deciding ALDS against the Yankees, the Royals had their backs up against the wall in the seventh inning. Down 3-1, Tommy Pham smacked a two-out single to give the Royals some hope at a comeback against a tiring Gerrit Cole. Unfortunately they had their #8 hitter, Kyle Isbel due up, with few bench options. The Royals were hoping at the very least he could extend the hitter to turn the lineup over and eventually get star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to the plate. Instead, Isbel hit a long flyout to end the threat, and Bobby would bat with no one on base in the eighth inning. The Royals would go on to lose the game and the series.

But imagine that somehow the Royals were able to send Bobby Witt Jr. up in that crucial situation instead of Isbel? That could be a possibility under a proposal that is reportedly being considered by MLB, according to a report by Jayson Stark of The Athletic. Commissioner Rob Manfred was recently on The Varsity podcast with Puck writer John Ourand and said the idea was “in the conversation-only stage right now.”

The motivation behind the idea is that in the most crucial moments of other sports, the game is given over to the biggest stars of the game - Patrick Mahomes leads the Chiefs down the field, Lebron James takes the shot for the Lakers. But in baseball, a Bobby Witt Jr. has to sit helpless in the dugout in a clutch situation if it isn’t his turn in the lineup.

A “Golden At-Bat” rule would allow the Royals to hit Witt at a key moment. How that would work exactly would have to be ironed out. Among the possibilities, Stark mentions:

• Each team gets to pick one at-bat — at any point in the game, but only once — to play its Golden AB card. So would it save that card for The Juan Soto Moment? Or would it play it in the second inning, with the bases loaded and a chance to blow up a game? Strategy alert!

• Or there’s this option: Each team gets one Golden AB per game — except only in the seventh inning or later.

• Or there’s the variation I’d vote for — where only a team that is trailing (or tied) in the ninth or later gets to use a Golden AB. I’m a fan of less is more, and two Golden ABs every game (one per team) might be overkill.

• There’s also this potential wrinkle: The Royals use their Golden AB to let Bobby Witt Jr. lead off the ninth. He makes an out. But who’s batting second? Whaddaya know, it’s Witt’s turn in the lineup. So here he comes again. Yes, that could be a thing.

Baseball would likely test this out first before introducing it at the big league level, likely at the All-Star game before trying it at the minor league level.

The proposal would fundamentally change baseball strategy in the late innings and represent one of the biggest rule changes since the advent of the designated hitter. But while baseball can be sclerotic at times, it has implemented big rule changes like the DH, the pitch clock, and a ban on shifts. Would this be an extension of those rule changes to adapt to a changing fanbase? Or would it be too radical a change for baseball purists? One executive quoted by Stark considers the proposal a bridge too far.

“With the other rule changes … you’re trying to create the best version of baseball,” he said. “But with this rule, the Golden At-Bat, it’s like you’re trying to create a different sport. You’re trying to create something else that’s kind of like baseball, but not really.”

Part of what makes baseball special is that everyone does get their turn at-bat. In basketball, you can play several minutes and never touch the ball. In football, some players are not even allowed to touch the ball. But in baseball, all nine starters get a turn at-bat. That can lessen star power - Shohei Ohtani only gets four, maybe five chances to help his team win at the plate, not nearly the same impact a Mahomes or Lebron has on his team.

But having all nine hitters bat emphasizes the team aspect. Some of baseball’s biggest moments have come from the most unlikely candidates. Buddy Biancalana, Dane Iorg, and Christian Colón were all post-season heroes in Kansas City. Doesn’t the fact that Bucky Dent, Francisco Cabrera, and David Freese weren’t big stars make it more special that they came through with some of the biggest October hits ever?

I will admit to being a baseball purists with knee jerk negative reactions to most new proposals to “improve” the game. I understand the game has to adapt to its audience. But I’m not sure this is what younger fans are clamoring for. As former manager Joe Maddon puts it, “Who are we trying to serve with this? And what is the purpose of the whole thing? I don’t quite understand that.”

Me neither Joe.