When I was a young would-be sports writer just out of college working for the Southwest Times Record newspaper in Fort Smith, Ark., my editor sent me out to cover the state small school baseball tournament.
I had not seen much high school baseball through the years, so I was caught by surprise by one particular rule the small schools played by.
It was called the “Courtesy Runner.”
That rule allowed coaches to sub in a faster runner when a slower player got on base. But the player who was substituted for could remain in the game. Usually, the coach subbed in his fastest guy for the big, slow catcher.
I was offended by the Courtesy Runner, because I grew up following Major League Baseball and knew that once a player was substituted for, he was out of the game. No coming back in.
But the Courtesy Runner seemed popular with high school coaches in back in 1979, even if it messed up my boxscore at the end of the game. It remains in play for high schools, softball and even Little League Baseball.
And now the Courtesy Runner has been joined by other earthshaking changes infiltrating Major League Baseball itself as the game seeks a younger demographic. The pitch clock. Bigger bases. Fewer mount visits.
More is coming.
Recently, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred discussed the possibility of baseball using what he called a “Golden At-Bat.”
“You put your best player out there out of order at a particular point in the game,” Manfred said. “That rule and things like that are only in the conversational stage right now.”
Here’s a scenario:
Let’s say the Yankees are down two runs in the 9th inning vs. the hated Red Sox with two men on base and two outs. The Golden At-Bat rule would allow them to bring Aaron Judge — their best hitter — to the plate even if his place in the batting order was six at-bats away.
I’m offended by the Golden At-Bat idea, just like I was offended by the Courtesy Runner all those years ago.
Call me a Geezer shouting GET OFF MY LAWN, but the Golden At-Bat concept seemed to come right out of left field, so to speak. It’s goofy. It’s unneeded. It’s a terrible idea.
Baseball already places a runner on second base to start the inning in extra innings. Now this?
Like me, much of the world of MLB fans reacted with horror to a rule that would skew baseball’s beloved statistics, which have withstood the test of time for more than 100 years.
There has been a chorus of boos across the nation from baseball fans, among them radio talk show host Dan Patrick. I listen to the podcast version of the DP Show daily, and heard Patrick’s reaction last week.
“I hate it,” he said. “Hate it. I hate the runner at second base to start extra innings. Don’t go too gimmicky. Does baseball need that? It felt like baseball had a good year, a great year.”
In the spirit of the Golden At-Bat, Dan asked his entourage of co-hosts, collectively known as the Danettes, to come up with some “even dumber” ideas for baseball. The guys were happy to oblige.
“Count the Golden At-Bat as two outs if the batter fails to get a hit.”
“if your team is up by 10 runs or more you have to pitch blindfolded.”
“If you throw a pitch 100 mph or more, it’s not a strike, it’s a ball.”
“One time a game, you can require the opposing team to remove one outfielder during an at-bat.”
The Danettes struck Dumb and Dumber gold with their ideas.
But, you know what? They didn’t mention the Courtesy Runner.
And I’m still offended by the Courtesy Runner after all these years.
So GET OFF MY LAWN.
Jim Stafford's BlogOKC 