Let me address some news concerning Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has floated an idea for an MLB rule change that caught fire this week, polarizing baseball fans all over the place. It's called the golden at bat. Once a game, a manager gets to put his best batter at the plate, regardless of where the batting order stands. So essentially, a picture facing the Dodgers could get show
hel Tani out in a high level leverage situation. Then Dave Roberts plays his golden at batcard and you have to face a Tony all over again. It's important to note that Manfred said this idea is in the conversation only stage. I don't know whether it's a great idea or not. I like it. I like the fact that
you have a commissioner with baseball forward thinking. I love the fact that he's willing to be innovation and take chances, because you see, what we have to remember is to call baseball on the carpet for always being the last at the party. It could be steroids, it could be amphetamines. It could be you know, a domestic violence. It could be a whole bunch of things. Baseball has a history of usually being the last acting. I'm not talking about
the league. I'm talking about the players, as in the players association, because unlike football and unlike basketball, baseball was notorious for being the most powerful players association in sports. We get that, and so because of that, they would hold out, they could be locked out, they'd go on strike, they do a whole bunch of things, and their level of intestinal resolves seem to be at an elevated pace
compared to basketball, football, and even hockey players. I get all of that, but because of that, it came attached with arrogance. And so when steroids was being brought about and all of this stuff, you know, Mark McGuire and Sammy So So ultimately you have to get The Game of Shadows with Barry Bonds and the excerpts and Sports Illustrated for the Game of Shadows and all of this others of the book. That is that's what that was
the name of the book. All of this stuff has been going on, and it all came back to baseball and its arrogance was always of the mindset, we can police ourselves. Who the hell are y'all to tell us anything? And it was only as the numbers dissipated in terms of attendance, in terms of ratings, in terms of revenue, et cetera, did they take heed. And even then they still were reluctant, and even now they still are. So I implored Rob Manfred for saying, listen, I'm not gonna let
this game sink. We're growing again. Some of the rule changes shifting in the pictures mound, along with various other things. Okay, those things have assisted in more runs being scored, and more home runs being hit, more stolen bases, all of that stuff. Athleticism being reinvited to the sport of baseball. Beautiful thing. But now he's trying to take it a step further. I'm not gonna knock Rob Manfred for that.
Why not try it? Think about it. We're watching the World Series and Juan Soto comes up to bat, This brother knocks it out the park. But then guess what, Aaron Judge is gonna strike out if somebody else ain't gonna do what they're supposed to do. Okay, and there's no way you're gonna get back to Juan Soto because guess what, eight other dudes gotta bat until he comes back up the plate. This alleviates that concern and you can bring it right back up to the plate and say,
damn it, let him go again. I love it. It works. But guess what rule really really needs to change in order to facilitate all of these things for happening for the better. You gotta get rid of the intentional walk ladies and gentlemen. Somebody needs to say it, so I'm gonna say it. It's one of the weakest moves in sports. So let me get this straight. I'm aa picture get paid millions of dollars. My job is gull up there
and get you out. But I get to look at you know, my nephew Josh is up at the plate, and I get to look at him and say, I don't want to pitch to him. I don't want to have to get him out. I don't think I could do it. Let me walk him. What kind of shit is that? So you don't want to guard Lebron James, You want to guard Steph Curry. You don't want to guard any of these people, No, you gotta deal with them.
Baseball is the loan sport that enables you to completely conspicuously and unapologetically just circumvent competition, and then you wonder why you ain't as popular as football or basketball. We like competition. You a pitcher, I'm an hit her. Let's go. Could you imagine somebody walking up to Randy Johnson and telling him the intentionally walks someone. Somebody walking up to
Roger Clemens and telling him the intentionally walks someone. Back in the days, Josh Gibson and Tom Stevens got intentionally walk, intentionally walk, I'm gonna be scared to face a batter. And then you wonder why it pisses people off. People ain't got time for that. We like competition. This suggestion conversations only by Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, invites more competitive fervor that is good for the sport.
It doesn't hurt baseball. It only hurts the feelings of the old fogus who want to hold on to the fifties and the sixties and probably earlier than that, rather than acclimating themselves to the times that we're living in. Trust me on this one. Trust me