The Savannah Bananas have taken the baseball world by storm, touring MLB stadiums all summer long. While they look to continue their dominance, they also recently received an apology from MLB. The Athletic's Evan Drellich outlined the aftermath of Rob Manfred's second-hand-man apologizing to the Bananas after the golden at-bat drama from last year.
“Last year, Manfred made waves when he suggested a possible rule change for MLB that the Bananas already used: the Golden At-Bat, which allows a team to break its traditional batting order to use its best hitter in a key moment,” Drellich wrote. “An MLB owner had been particularly keen on the idea for years, according to league sources who were not authorized to speak publicly. But fans reacted poorly to the thought of it being ported to MLB, which led to Manfred backtracking.”
“Privately, though, MLB at the time was also concerned it had offended the Bananas. Deputy commissioner for baseball administration and legal Dan Halem, Manfred’s second-in-command, offered Savannah an apology, which was accepted, people briefed on the conversation said,” he continued.
Manfred pitched the golden at-bat rule unofficially, and the public went wild. The idea of eliminating the batting order once per game did not sit well with fans. That includes purists or those who are open to change. Despite the lack of movement on the MLB adaptation of the rule, Halem felt the need to apologize.
The Bananas do employ the golden at-bat rule, as well as many unique rules that make up Banana Ball. Fans catching foul balls for outs doesn't seem like the way MLB wants to end the World Series. But that does not mean they can't find some of the rules that make the Bananas a revelation.
What Banana Ball rules would you like to see in MLB? It does not seem like golden at-bat is coming, which most fans are happy about.
