ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - One potential new rule is causing a quite a stir in the world of baseball.
In a podcast appearance on 'The Varsity with John Ourand', MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred floated the idea of the addition of the 'Golden At-Bat' rule, which would let effectively a team's best hitter to step up to the plate even if it is not his turn.
"There are a variety of (rule change ideas) that are being talked about out there," Manfred said on the podcast. "One of them – there was a little buzz around it at an owners’ meeting – was the idea of a Golden At-Bat."
Kevin Wheeler and Tom Ackerman discussed the 'Golden At-Bat Rule' on 'The Gashouse Gang' and both were not at all fans of the potential rule.
Audio player of conversation:
Video of conversation on KMOX News and KMOX Sports YouTube Page:
"It doesn't serve any damn purpose," said Wheeler on 'The Gashouse Gang'. "So do you think a gimmick like this grows the sport? In what way does the sport grow from doing this? Is this gimmick going to make a non-baseball fan watch baseball?"
"I got news for you, it's still baseball. If you don't like baseball and if you are not into it, this kind of thing is not going to get you into it. It has nothing to do with drawing in (fans). It's just a gimmick."
Wheeler believes most baseball teams and executives are not in favor of the 'Golden At-Bat rule'.
"Most teams and executives would look at this and say it's insane," said Wheeler. "You work your a** off all game long to build a plan so you can navigate through the other team's batting order right? Now all of a sudden, people can get to change that?"
Listen to the full conversation between Wheeler and Ackerman on the 'Golden At-Bat' proposal in the player above or on KMOX News and KMOX Sports YouTube pages.