MLB's seven-inning doubleheaders, extra-innings runner rule unlikely to become permanent

[Jetsfan80]

You guys can thank my Dad for this.  He met Manfred at the MLB combine a few weeks back in Cary, NC and mentioned how much he hated the 7-inning doubleheaders.  lol.  

 

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlbs-seven-inning-doubleheaders-extra-innings-runner-rule-unlikely-to-become-permanent/

MLB's seven-inning doubleheaders, extra-innings runner rule unlikely to become permanent

Commissioner Rob Manfred said he didn't think the rules would be 'part of our future going forward'

 

By Mike Axisa

 

5 hrs ago2 min read

 

Two of baseball's least popular rule changes are unlikely to become permanent. While speaking with reporters Tuesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said seven-inning doubleheader games and the automatic runner at second base in extra innings are "much less likely to be part of our permanent landscape," according to The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans.

"(These were a) COVID-related change. I don't think seven-inning doubleheaders are going to be a part of our future going forward," Manfred told Rosecrans. The rule changes were put in place to reduce time spent at the ballpark during the pandemic, and with vaccine rollout well underway and every MLB ballpark returning to 100 percent capacity, they are no longer required.

I am a weirdo who enjoys the extra-innings tiebreaker rule, though I know I am in the minority, and I'm not surprised it's going away. The fan outcry is too great to ignore. Seven-inning doubleheader games were fine during the pandemic. There's no reason to have them otherwise, especially with teams again playing split doubleheaders and charging two admissions.

Also, Manfred called the universal DH a "non-radical change" and it is widely expected to become permanent next season, when the next collective bargaining agreement takes effect. For all intents and purposes, baseball in 2022 could look an awful lot like baseball prior to 2020, albeit with the DH in the National League.

Manfred also discussed the Athletics ballpark situation Tuesday and acknowledged the "process is at the end," according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The A's years-long efforts to get a new stadium in the Bay Area have stalled, and ownership has recently begun looking for alternative cities, most notably Las Vegas and Portland. 

"Las Vegas is a viable alternative for a major-league club and there are other viable alternatives I have not turned the A's loose to explore," Manfred told Shaikin and Baseball America's Kyle Glaser. "... This is not a bluff. This is the decision point for Oakland whether they want to have Major League Baseball moving forward."

Teams often threaten relocation in an effort to coax local governments into forking over money for new stadiums in their home cities. The A's are locked into what is now called RingCentral Coliseum through 2024, so if the team is going to relocate and build a new stadium, time is running short. Planning and construction can take north of two years.

On the labor front, the current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. MLB and the MLBPA appear to be closer to a work stoppage now than at any point since the 1994-95 strike, though Manfred has previously said he is optimistic a work stoppage can be avoided.

[chirorob]

It sucks, I don't know anyone who likes this 7 inning crap.

[section314]

Now, if they just get rid of replay and the wild card............

[Lith]

Best moves Manfred makes are undoing the worst moves Manfred makes.

[chirorob]

1 hour ago, Lith said:

Best moves Manfred makes are undoing the worst moves Manfred makes.

Seriously.   It's baseball.   Just leave the game alone.

Don't change the innings.  Don't change runners on base.   Stop effing with the playoffs, just leave it alone.

[RutgersJetFan]

17 hours ago, chirorob said:

It sucks, I don't know anyone who likes this 7 inning crap.

Mets fans. Honestly probably the reason they're in first place.

[JetPotato]

Manfred should have been arrested by the TVA

[Defense Wins Championships]

My Rays just won an extra innings game but I absolutely hate the rule. I hate the fact that a runner is automatically advanced to 2nd base without even earning a trip to 1st base; it's an absolute crap rule and can't wait for it to become eliminated. 

I also hated the home plate collision banning but due to concussions/CTE I completely understand it. 

But yeah baseball is a perfect game and shouldn't be edited. 

[faba]

Good this sucked 9 innings like a baseball game should be. With no runner st second base to start an jnning