MLB’s Joint Competition Committee Votes To Make “Ghost Runner” Rule Permanent;

[Ron Madden]

MLB’s Joint Competition Committee Votes To Make “Ghost Runner” Rule Permanent; Place Limits On Position Players Pitching

The rule that saw a free runner placed on second base in extra innings last year will continue in 2023 and beyond, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

The rule permanent for the regular season and regular season only. Postseason games will continue to feature regular play in extra innings.

Also, position players will only be allowed to pitch in extra innings, or in the ninth inning for a leading team that is up by ten or more runs or anytime for a trailing team that is down by eight or more.

MLB’s Joint Competition Committee voted unanimously for both measures. (Twitter links and ESPN link). Rogers reported on the potential changes regarding position players earlier today.

More to come.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/...-pitching.html

[Ron Madden]

I hated this rule at first but I can live with it

[Ron Madden]

The automatic runner rule was first put in place in the 2020 season. Given the interrupted Spring Training and then quick ramp-up to shortened season, there were concerns about the unusual campaign leading to more injuries.

The hope with the “ghost runner” was that it would decrease the likelihood of marathon games and therefore decrease player workloads and the mitigate the chances of an injury popping up.

Though the change rankled many baseball purists, there’s little doubting that it was successful in accomplishing the goal of preventing exceptionally long games.

There were 23 games that went beyond 13 innings in length in 2019, but it happened just once over the first two seasons the rule was in place.

2022 data wasn’t immediately available but the longest game last year was a 15-inning contest between the Guardians and Twins, per the Associated Press.

Though many fans dislike the rule, it’s not hard to see why players and teams like it.

For the players, they now have less chance of playing in an exhausting contest that goes to, say, 18 innings or six hours or both.

For the teams, those situations would usually lead to a taxed bullpen and resultant roster shuffling, which is now far less likely.

That doesn’t even get to the logistics of a game going so long that it leads to rescheduling flights or throwing off sleep schedules or other logistical issues that could be created. Whether fans like it or not, it seems it is now here to stay.

As for the rules on position players pitching, Rogers reported on that possibility earlier today.

The league had tried to tamp down on the occurrence recently by mandating that it could only happen when a game involved a six-run lead or more.

Unlike the free runner rule, this one did not accomplish its goal. There were 32 instances of position players pitching in 2017 but that number rose to 132 last year.

With the instances still growing, it seems both players and the league agreed that it was necessary to further limit the conditions where it was acceptable to turn to such a tactic.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/...-pitching.html

[cumberlandreds]

I hated this rule at first but I can live with it

I can't. So I don't watch extra innings any longer.

[westofyou]

Fart Noise

[757690]

No good reason why it should start at the 10th inning. The vast majority of extra inning games are decided by the 11th inning.

Start it at the 12th inning, that way most extra inning games are decided normally, and you still eliminate games that go on forever with no one scoring.

[Ron Madden]

Approximately 10 percent of regular season games go to extra innings, historically.

Last year 223 of 2,430 regular season games went to extra innings, or 9.2 percent. With the extra-innings tiebreaker rule, only seven games have gone as long as 13 innings the last three seasons.

There were 37 13-inning games in 2019 alone, the last year with "normal" extra-inning rules.

MLB's 11-person joint competition committee includes six team representatives, four player representatives, and one umpire representative.

Given the makeup of the committee, MLB can jam through any rule change proposals it wants, though the extra-innings tiebreaker was approved unanimously. People within game clearly like the rule more than most fans.

A version of the extra-innings tiebreaker rule has been used by the International Baseball Federation, the governing body for Olympic and international baseball competition, for decades.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/m...ahead-of-mets/

[BCubb2003]

No good reason why it should start at the 10th inning. The vast majority of extra inning games are decided by the 11th inning.

Start it at the 12th inning, that way most extra inning games are decided normally, and you still eliminate games that go on forever with no one scoring.

I agree. Extra innings (free baseball!) can be fun, but after the 12th it’s just a slog.

[Wayne Krivsky]

I don't mind the ghost runner rule, but either do it or dont. If you have to one one set of rules for the regular season and another set of rules for the post season that typically means it's a dumb rule.

Also dont love the solution for position players pitching. I get there is an injury concern and managers are using these guys more and more, but this feels like an overcorrection. I'd rather see my utility infielder throw up a few gopher balls in the 9th inning of a 6-0 game than run my middle reliever out there for their 3rd inning after the 2nd straight day that my starter couldn't get out of the 3rd inning in a stretch where we have 0 days off for two weeks. Managers helped cause this, but there has to be a better answer, maybe you limit each position player to 3 innings they are eligible to pitch each season? Put some restrictions on these guys to keep them healthy, but you still have to give managers freedom to do what is best for their team in any given situation.

[REDREAD]

I might be in the minority, but I love the ghost runner rule.
It's a nice wrinkle in the game, makes extra innings a lot more exciting.
It makes me more likely to watch an extra inning game, as you are likely to see scoring, as opposed to seeing relievers post several scoreless innings.

[Bourgeois Zee]

I hate it, but the players seem to like it.

Ick.

[redsfan9988]

I feel like this is fixing what isn’t broken. It smacks of corporate idiots trying to manage a number - in this case “length of game.” This rule will contribute to making games shorter on the aggregate, but it accomplishes this in the dumbest way possible.

For all the kids out there who say, “I’d love to watch baseball and buy my favorite player’s jersey, but I can’t because those damn extra-inning games go on to long,” you win, I guess.

[Wayne Krivsky]

I might be in the minority, but I love the ghost runner rule.
It's a nice wrinkle in the game, makes extra innings a lot more exciting.
It makes me more likely to watch an extra inning game, as you are likely to see scoring, as opposed to seeing relievers post several scoreless innings.

I'm with you. I don't feel super strong one way or the other, but I do appreciate the strategy involved with the ghost runner. If I'm an away team and still have my closer available do I try and just small ball that runner home? If I'm the home team in a tie game would I use my best hitter to bunt? If we are tied in the 9th would I not use my best reliever to let them be responsible for the ghost runner in the 10th?

[Kinsm]

The ghost runner rule needs to be buried.

[Slyder]

I don't mind the ghost runner rule, but either do it or dont. If you have to one one set of rules for the regular season and another set of rules for the post season that typically means it's a dumb rule.

Also dont love the solution for position players pitching. I get there is an injury concern and managers are using these guys more and more, but this feels like an overcorrection. I'd rather see my utility infielder throw up a few gopher balls in the 9th inning of a 6-0 game than run my middle reliever out there for their 3rd inning after the 2nd straight day that my starter couldn't get out of the 3rd inning in a stretch where we have 0 days off for two weeks. Managers helped cause this, but there has to be a better answer, maybe you limit each position player to 3 innings they are eligible to pitch each season? Put some restrictions on these guys to keep them healthy, but you still have to give managers freedom to do what is best for their team in any given situation.

Saves on wear and tear on arms by trying to quicken up the end. I'd rather see Regular Season games end that doesn't mean missing out on someone in the postseason cause the extra wear from that ridiculous 1-0 19 inning affair caused a key starter to have to come in, pitch, and end up getting injured worse cause of the extra load.