The Toronto Blue Jays recently boat raced the Tampa Bay Rays 20-1. Maybe this loss wouldn’t have been so bad had Rays manager Kevin Cash not allowed right fielder Luke Raley and catcher Christian Bethancourt pretend to be pitchers for the last two innings. The duo gave up ten runs and made one thing abundantly clear. Stop letting position players pitch in MLB games.
Seriously, a losing team running out a non-pitcher to eat innings is the baseball equivalent of waving the white flag. The manager has, in no uncertain terms, given up that game. There is nothing wrong with the sentiment, by the way. A lost cause isn’t worth chasing.
However, managers and teams should be forced to own the decision to give up on a game. Stop letting position players pitch in MLB games. Instead, make losing teams mercy rule themselves. If a club doesn’t want to burn through their bullpen, give them the option to tap out any time after the sixth inning.
At that point, a manager can walk up to the umpire and announce they no longer wish to play. The game is then made final. Everyone gets to go home and try it again tomorrow. Yeah, it would be embarrassing for teams, especially if they were at home.
But forcing them to admit they’re quitting is far better than making everyone else go through the motions while position players pitch. Why should fans, announcers, stadium staff and others be forced to sit through a club trying to save face?
Teams that don’t want the embarrassment of giving up can continue to play while using actual pitchers. There is no rule saying they must stop chasing a game. And those that wish to stop chasing simply have to say so as opposed to wasting everyone’s time.
And before some of you say, “Other sports allow teams to put in backups when scores get lopsided.” There is a massive difference between an NFL team putting in a backup quarterback down by 30 or an NBA coach emptying the bench at the end of a blowout and a baseball manager using a position player at pitcher.
It would be akin to an NFL head coach putting a linebacker at quarterback because they were losing by a considerable margin. It wouldn’t happen. Nor should it.
Stop letting position players pitch in MLB games. Either use actual pitchers or let teams quit. Anything else is just a waste of time.
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