Rob Manfred’s “Golden At-Bat” idea? Give me a break. This isn’t Little League, folks. It’s Major League Baseball, where the best of the best compete, not some carnival sideshow where everyone gets a participation trophy.

Let’s call this what it really is – a desperate attempt to inject artificial excitement into a game that’s been around for over 150 years. Baseball doesn’t need gimmicks. It needs to remember what made it great in the first place.

Manfred seems to think that fans are too impatient, too easily bored to appreciate the nuances of a well-pitched game or the strategy behind every at-bat. He’s wrong. Real fans understand that baseball is a game of inches, of moments, of rising to the occasion when it matters most.

This “Golden At-Bat” nonsense? It’s like giving a boxer a free punch in the 12th round. It’s like letting a football team start a drive from the 50-yard line in overtime. It’s not just unfair – it’s an insult to the very spirit of competition.

What’s next, Rob? Letting teams choose their pitcher for the 9th inning? How about we just flip a coin to decide extra innings?

Baseball doesn’t need to be “fixed.” It needs to be celebrated for what it is – a beautiful, sometimes frustrating, always unpredictable game that reflects life itself. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains.

Manfred needs to put down his focus group reports and remember why we fell in love with this game in the first place. It wasn’t because of flashy gimmicks or rule changes designed to appease the TikTok generation. It was because of the drama, the history, and the purity of nine innings of hardball.

So here’s a novel idea, Rob: Leave the game alone. Focus on making sure we have competitive balance, reasonable ticket prices, and players who respect the game. Do that, and the fans will come. No golden tickets required.