MLB Executive Might Have Floated The Worst Idea In Sports History

Just when I thought ideas to “improve” and “add excitement” to the game of baseball couldn’t get any worse, there is apparently an absolutely crazy idea out there to allow any batter to bat in the ninth inning if your team is trailing.

 

One #MLB executive told @richeisen about an idea to improve excitement in the game by allowing managers to put anyone up to bat in the 9th inning if trailing. Good idea or crazy? pic.twitter.com/IgM6Zrofer

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 20, 2018

 

I find it hard to believe Major League Baseball is seriously considering doing this, but Rich Eisen claims MLB executives are talking about the idea. This should be wrong on so many levels to any serious sports fan, especially traditionalists and diehard baseball fans. The game has been the same for 150 years, and despite its relative decline in popularity compared to some of the other sports, most people don’t seriously want radical changes.

 

At the crux of this issue is both sports and society in general are becoming more egocentric and self-absorbed, with less emphasis on team and family. Instead of having faith in teammates to get the job done and rally to allow the top of the order and/or the meat of the order to get up to bat, out-of-touch suits are more worried about “star power” and having Bryce Harper or Mike Trout in the box with the game on the line. While those stars would love nothing more than the opportunity to knock in a game-tying or go-ahead run, I guarantee you even they strongly disagree with the idea of passing over their teammates to bat whenever their team is losing.

 

Real stars will probably be the first to say there are eight innings with plenty of opportunities for them to do damage against opposing pitchers. And they will also probably tell you how much confidence they have in their teammates to do their job and help ignite a comeback. There’s no need to give them a guarantee of batting in the ninth inning.

 

Also, giving managers the opportunity to put their best hitters up to bat is unfair to pitchers. Imagine someone having a perfect game after getting through the 2-3-4 hitters three times already, but in the ninth inning they’re thrown right back out there for you to face. As anyone that’s played the game or simply has any sense of sports (or almost any activity), hitters tend to get a better feel for the pitcher the more they face them. Of course, it could go the other way, with the pitchers simply getting the batter’s number the more they face them—but four times in one game when you have a perfect game is playing with fire.

 

Some are using the analogy of other sports, where star players like Michael Jordan simply aren’t out of the game when it’s on the line. That argument doesn’t hold water. Just look at football. There are three units: offense, defense, and special teams. When the Patriots are losing or ahead late in the fourth quarter and on defense, that’s too bad—you don’t just throw Tom Brady and the offensive unit out there because it’s the strength of your team.

 

While with the average fan, the majority might be in favor of an offensive showcase, there are some people that appreciate solid pitching and defense, too. Not everything has to be about offense; there are plenty of opportunities throughout a long game to make plays at the plate, on the basepaths, on the mound, and in the field. To suggest the star players need to batting in the ninth inning is simply ludicrous.

 

Did anyone watch the World Series last year, or what? It didn’t matter how was up for either team, the runs were pouring in and the games became absurd. It was a prime example to show there’s no need to give the ninth inning a “boost” with this ridiculous proposal.

 

The concept reminds me of an idea Patrick Star once had.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9RuaB3c9FQ

 

Not all ideas are good ideas, and having anyone you want bat in the ninth inning is certainly not a good idea.

 

This isn’t Little League. Things like this should only be implemented with kids, and not to try and win the game, but to give kids that might have only gotten one at-bat in a game another opportunity. What is apparently being discussed by Major League Baseball is simply slanted against the pitchers and defenses. Basically, the rule would be anarchy. An MLB game is not a wiffle ball game in the backyard—you don’t just make up radical rules to change the way the game has been around since the 19^th century.