Major League Baseball has seen its fair share of rule changes ever since the lockout during the 2021-22 offseason, such as the universal designated hitter, extra-inning ghost runner, and, arguably most importantly, the pitch clock.
Now, Commissioner Rob Manfred has introduced a concept for baseball’s newest rule change; the golden at-bat, where a team can select any player to hit outside their respective slot in the batting order.
Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register writes a column about why this idea would only tarnish the game of baseball if put in play.
Classic confrontations can’t, and shouldn’t, be manufactured. That goes against not only the charm of baseball but the entire nature of the game. The great matchups and great late moments of the past happened organically… If those matchups are artificially obtained rather than organic, how long before we become bored and start referring to them as “tin can at-bats?”
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Now that Juan Soto signed a record-breaking 15-year contract worth $765 million with the New York Mets, the clock is ticking on the biggest outfielder currently on the free agent market, Teoscar Hernández.
The Dodgers, along with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, continue to be the most ideal landing destinations for the reigning Home Run Derby champion, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com.
Even with the recent signing of outfielder Michael Conforto, the Dodgers still remain in the mix to bring back Hernández, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Blake Treinen appeared on the Foul Territory podcast Thursday, where he discussed his mindset behind his commendable 42-pitch outing against the Yankees during Game 5 of the World Series.
“The biggest thing for me was just to try to minimize pitch counts and just force weak contact… The [seventh] inning went quick enough to allow us an opportunity to extend into the eighth. Once I got to the eighth, my mindset was just finish the inning so we got a clean one for whoever came in behind me.”
Treinen’s perseverance in the postseason, along with his work in the regular season, netted him a two-year deal worth $22 million to remain a Dodger.