Like many of my dear readers, I was astounded by the wonderful, inspired, and inspiring idea that MLB Commissioner shared with us this week.
The Commish was testing the waters on an idea he called the Golden At Bat. This idea consisted of allowing a team to, once every game, choose a different (and likely better) batter to bat at a key juncture. Bottom of the ninth, your team is losing by two and has the bases loaded. Why suffer with another Jake Meyers at bat when you can have Yordan Alvarez get up and terrorize the pitcher? Even if Yordan is already on base. Even if he just batted. Even if the pitcher just got done striking him out the first time.
Now, this is genuinely the only idea I have heard that makes the phantom base runner starting at second base in extra innings seem sane in comparison.
Well, Manfred’s idea involved quite a bit of thinking outside the batter’s box, and it inspired this writer to come up with his own set of goofy, I mean inspired, ideas.
The Tin At Bat
In this version, the pitching team gets to pick who from the other team they want to pitch to in a key at-bat. It can be someone off the bench as long as they are a position player. Are the Astros trying to hide Pedro Leon and his .100 BA at the end of the bench? Well, he is not hiding anymore.
Now if both teams want to apply this at the same time – the tie is resolved by a 2 out of 3 arm wrestling match between the managers. That is one way to get Greg Luzinski a job as a major league manager.
The Switcheroo
For one inning a game, the teams switch their results. If the visitors score a couple and the home team scores none – it ends up the other way on the scoreboard. The way the inning gets chosen is with nine lottery balls where the result of the ball being picked is done before the game in secret and revealed at the end of the ninth inning. No one would go home, because no one would know what the result was until after the game. If the inning switch creates a tie ball game, well play on.
The ”Take That Dodgers” Switch
Every year there is a special draft lottery, but instead of designating who gets the first pick in the amateur draft, it shows which lousy, cheap, undeserving team gets to pick one player off any roster to play one season for them for free. Shohei, ends up playing for Sacramento/Las Vegas five years in a row for free. (Hey, the Dodgers aren’t paying him jack until after he’s retired anyway).
The Man with the Not So Golden Arm
For one at bat per game, the team at bat gets to make the pitcher turn around and throw with their non-throwing arm. Suddenly those few switch pitching freaks get promoted to closer.
The Flexible Field Inning
Every ninth inning, a portable fence is placed 40 feet inside the existing outfield fence. (Picture the Bad News Bears in Breaking Training playing in the Astrodome). Every inning that ends up tied the fence moves in 20 feet more until the game is resolved or someone hits five home runs in a game.
Fan Friendly Replay
When a team challenges the play on the field and asks for a replay, instead of the call being reviewed by a crew in New York, the review is turned over to those watching on television. Fans of both teams would call in or log in on-line ($2 per call/log-in) and vote for their version of the true call. Yes, it might end up being wrong, but doesn’t that happen often anyway?
Oh, this is fun. And I know you are thinking, that these artificial ideas take away from the game we love and are just hyped up and ridiculous. That’s why this post is titled “As Inspired by Rob Manfred”.
Your turn, what harebrained idea would you like to promote?
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
31 responses to “As inspired by Rob Manfred”
Someone please save me from this discussion with the announcement of a big free agent signing. The thing sounds pornographic. This latest thought from the Manfred brain is that odd.
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There is no saving you daveb – like me – you’ve lived too long.
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Yeah Dan, but but I don’t want to miss anything worthwhile, so I’m going to stick around.
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It appears that Manfred is afflicted with the the dreaded cranial inversion disease. I absolutely detest the extra innings rule that is currently in place and I’m not a fan of the current pitch clock rule. However, a more modified rule (pitch clock) would be OK. It seems that somebody is always trying to screw with the game to make it “better”. There was nothing wrong with it to begin with. Certain rules have been necessary (nasty sliding into 2nd base causing injuries) but some of the other rules/proposals are taking the game a little too far.
I hadn’t watched football except for a couple of peeks for the past three years but I watched a few this year. I saw the new kick off deal and I thought how stupid is that? Then there was the moving of the extra point kick back to the 15 and allowing the defense to score on a blocked kick and run back. I can see the point here. The kickoff rule just befuddles me. I read the explanation of how it works and it looked like an algebraic problem full of if/then statements. When I was a kid we used to play in the front yard and had a rule that if you completed 3 passes in four downs you got another 4 downs even if you didn’t get the yards necessary for a 1st down (we had short fields unless we could go into other peoples yards).
Oh well, my opinion, and that a $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
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Yeah the kickoff rule is an odd one. Football puts a lot on the refs’ plates to keep an eye on. I’m thinking of the QB sliding rule and the you can’t hit the QB below the knees or above the shoulders type things.
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Maybe they should play flag football with the QB’s. Let them run around humiliated with that belt on.
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My idea is not so hairbrained: let kids in for free and end blackouts.
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Good ideas that are sane – they’ll never consider them….
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A pretty rational look at the Astros’ trade possibilities
How Can the Astros Create Payroll Space? – MLB Trade Rumors
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Lots of the usual nonsense in the comments. One stood out though – what happens when Juan Soto goes back to the Yankees? Do the Red Sox or Mets get desperate and decide they are willing to overpay for someone like Tucker? It’s not that I want to lose him, but rather we’re not going to get Bregman unless he has no better option and Crane leaves the overpayment (yeah, I said it) on the table. Tucker likewise won’t get a 10 year, half the moon offer from the team. Telling us that bringing back either is a priority is just a lie. I know some disagree with me on that, but it would be like me telling my wife my priority is to buy her a brand new Mercedes and then showing up at dealership telling them that $25k is my final offer.
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I would be surprised if anyone disagreed with you.
I’ll say this about Tucker – it relates to Soto. Soto is considered a generational talent by the people that deem themselves worthy of naming generational talents because of one thing – its not his baserunning or defense. It’s his ability to control the strikezone maybe better than anyone else playing, and combine that with the bat to ball to hit for good averages and the long ball. These are qualities shared by KT. Are they at the same degree, probably not, but he might be the closest facsimile to Soto in the league and he is actually a better baserunner and defender. Soto is going to cost someone around $640M. That has to be making Kyle Tucker extremely happy.
This seems like a deal that will be out of the Astros reach. Major publications a year ago were talking about Soto getting 450-500. We might think $450M is the tag, the agent might be starting at $500M.
I have also thought – if you are the Blue Jays, and you have already figured out how to put it in your budget to pay Soto because you made the official offer, and you don’t get him, why not package up 4 of your best prospects and send them our way, get Tucker, and make him an immediate $500M dollar offer? You are already budgeted for it. And he is the closest thing you are going to find to Soto that is available. Doesn’t have to be Toronto, can be any of the Soto sweepstakes losers, you all have budgeted for it. Lets go Boston, send me Campbell, I need CF fixed for a decade.
The question is really about the Astros.
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I’m assuming Manfred isn’t serious about the idea and it’s a smokescreen for something else. However, I don’t hate the idea of trying to add more strategy to the game. I hate the golden batter rule, though, as numbers are already not as comparable across eras as they should be. My proposal would be something along the lines of one hitter who was removed from the game could re-enter for one PH at bat per game in a later inning. It’s really not a topic I love, though. My preference would be to just leave the game as it is.
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Maybe a rule allowing the fans of each team to vote to put a restraining order on one person in the front office or ownership consultancy to keep that person from having input on the building of the club for that coming season. That rule is just as reasonable as any of the crap Manfred has come up with and it would satisfy the fans of each team.
The following year the fans could revote and maybe come up with another guy who may be screwing the team up.
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Better yet, start a boycott of major league baseball until they return the game to the fans.
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Great stuff as always Dan.
Here’s a couple of crazy ideas. And one sane one.
how about when we get to extra innings then the game carries on as normal with no inherited second base? Nah that would never catch on.
Or how about we let the fielders stand wherever they want and not force them to be on one side of the bag or another? Nah that would never catch on.
And a silly one – how about allowing ties … game stops if tied at the end of the ninth. The maths must be easy …
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Simon, where did you get that idea from?
Actually, I’d have settled for a maximum of 12 innings during regular season play, and if tied at that point, so be it. The manager earned his paycheck in extra innings. Three innings of extra inning play used to jam a whole lot of decision making into a game, without making a mockery of baseballs integrity.
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I like the “ties” idea. In fact I think the players should start wearing a sports coat and dress slacks to go along with the ties. They must be multi colored but no funky designs. However Jerry Garcia and Rush Limbaugh ties are allowed and no platform disco type shoes either. ZZ TOP says “Everybody’s Crazy about a Sharp Dressed Man”.
Oh sorry, I thought we were talking about dress apparel. (LOL)
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And Simon, I always found the shifting fascinating. I believe hitters would have eventually started beating the shifts regularly, by going opposite field or actually learning how to bunt again. Players on the field should evolve the game, not commissioners.
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How about if the league office is restricted to being right down the middle politically and can’t be “shifted” to one side?
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Good morning Astro fans! Seems more of us are coming over to the dark and murky other side. What I mean is that we forget about Bregman. And with a guy like Matt Snell getting 182 million over 5 years, by all means, we trade Framber. Even in his last year, he’ll bring real help. And mostly importantly the discussion here seems to be leaning, as reality sets in, that we let Tucker go too. Juan Soto could end up being the best thing to happen to the Astros right now. Looks more and more like he’ll get Ohtani money without the deferrals. If the Astro owner/committee/GM can all get on the same page and see it this way, admittedly, probably a long, long shot, we could be in for a tough 2025 season. But without Framber/Alex/Kyle we’d save roughly 60 million in 2025. And we’d get some real youthful talent in return. Ideally a couple of guys ready to play a corner infield position, own an outfield role and someone to give us innings too. We’ve got a sluggish, aging club. I’m ready for a breath of fresh air, even if it means going home after 162 games in 2025. 2026 will bring further financial flexibility and I think real hope.
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Even without money being a factor, I’d rather sign Tucker than Soto. That may sound crazy from someone on record saying Soto was more valuable in 2024 than Aaron Judge who won the MVP award. It also may sound crazy given WAS doesn’t beat us in 2019 without his 3 HR and 1.178 OPS in the WS. My reservations are solely around the fact that Soto is a free agent this offseason at age 26, but he is listed at 6’2″ and 224 lbs which he has been carrying his entire career. Guys break down and don’t get any younger. Tucker is almost 2 years older and listed at 6’4″ 212lb. I think he could carry more muscle and not break down. I don’t know if he can go for 10 years, but I would feel a lot better about his chances than Soto. If the question were who to take for the next 2-3 years it’s a completely different answer. That’s all a long way of saying if Boras can get him the money he’s asking for the buying team is going to regret it.
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In the coming years, when the system of huge contracts breaks down and the bottom 20 teams in baseball say “enough”, I hope the Astros aren’t sitting there with a ton of money owed to older players. The revolt will come in the next CBA negotiations and subsequent anger from fans and lesser owners and there will be a revolt. You can bet that MLB is going to be in big trouble when there are only 5-7 teams who want baseball to continue on its current path.
Another $700 million player added to the richest side of the league is going to piss off a lot of fans, me included. They know exactly what that is going to do to the price of tickets and jerseys. Eventually the public is going to wake up and say “enough is enough”, and they are gonna bail.
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Wonder what the Adames signing means to Bregman and the Astros?
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Hey gang, sorry I haven’t been here for awhile. Been very busy lately. Just moved to Converse, TX; northeast of San Antonio.
Instead of the Golden At Bat, I’d like to see the Golden Commissioner. Each year, the fans get to vote for someone to replace the current Commish. I’d vote for Jeff Bagwell and kill two birds with one stone.
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When a guy like Matthew Boyd gets 29 million guaranteed for two years, it sure gets hard to build the back end of a rotation unless you’ve got guys in the minors waiting to help out.
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Chip texted me that this just happened reportedly Soto has signed with the Mets for 15 (15!!!!!) yrs $765 million – no deferred money
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He’ll be spending quite a few of those years as a DH. But if he hits for another decade, then the Mets will be ok with that.
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To put this in a farcical perspective, the Mets will only be paying Soto for four years after they make their final payment to Bobby Bonilla on his famous contract. In theory Soto will still be playing for them…but if you believe that I have a bridge in NYC I want to sell you.
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Kyle Tucker is worth a half billion dollars or more today. If the Astros don’t move him, they are doing themselves a disservice. And while they are at it, Framber has never been more valuable. It’s a frenzy out there. Build for 2026. It really is a great opportunity for the Astros.
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I am thinking, 12/550. It’s going to be ridiculous. There is zero chance an agent is going to let KT sign a deal right now when they can take this thing to free agency. That hurts us as well as a team isn’t going to want to trade the farm if they can’t negotiate a new contract.
To me, if a team wants to keep someone beyond the 6 year team control mark, they have to strike early. When a guy is making 900k or 1.4M or whatever it is, it’s a lot easier to negotiate that contract at the three year mark for say the next 6 that is reasonable on the AAV, and gives them the bump immediately. It’s why Yordan worked. It’s what they should have done with Framber. By the end of next year, if Brown has a good 2024 and seems healthy, instead of a first year of arbitration, they should go a 5 year contract that bumps his 2026 salary well past what arbitration might award, pays him well, but keeps an AAV down for tax purposes and locks him in 2 years past that initial free agency. If you wait until guys are making 8-10M in arbitration you have no bargaining power, they are already being paid well enough to sit on that salary and get the Soto payday.
Now they tried this with McCullers and Javier, and it has backfired. One could definitely make an argument against doing this with pitchers, being made of glass and all. But Yainer, no reason at all to let him get to 10M+ in arbitration, lock him in before he hits the big arby numbers by bumping him now and saving some AAV later. Of course, there are always going to be Springers that say no or Singletons that say yes and then fail miserably.
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One thing I found pretty hilarious – on 610 AM they were playing one Yankees fan going ballistic over Soto leaving to go to the Mets. It was about 50% bleeped out.
I mean c’mon – how many times have the Yankees overspent to break the hearts of practically every team in baseball? It tickled me to see them getting a chunk of their own medicine.
Not that I would be broken hearted if Soto turned into a pumpkin now that he has taken care of about 10 generations of family with one contract.
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