MLB adopts ghost runner for extra innings permanently
The "ghost runner" on second base in extra innings became a permanent rule by MLB in 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It looks as if Major League Baseball won’t be ghosting its controversial extra-innings rule: The automatic runner at second base is here to stay.
Permanently.
First implemented during the pandemic-shortened 60-game season in 2020 as a way to protect pitchers’ arms and limit potential COVID-19 risk for players and staff at the ballpark, the so-called “ghost runner” — put in scoring position at the start of the 10th inning — continued on a temporary basis through the past two regular seasons.
While many fans weren’t thrilled by the radical time-saving measure, considering it too gimmicky, the rule was gradually embraced by the sport as a whole. Teams believed it helped minimize wear-and-tear over a long season with grueling travel demands and cut down on roster shuffling.
Commissioner Rob Manfred hinted this offseason that the automatic runner was likely to stick around. That decision turned out to be unanimous for the joint rules committee Monday, according to a source.
The extra-innings rule will remain, but only for regular-season games, as it previously did, with the playoffs reverting to the traditional format favored by the sport’s purists. The batter who made the third out of the previous inning will be deployed at second base; he counts as an unearned run for the pitcher if he scores.
Ultimately, the automatic runner fits in perfectly with baseball’s efforts to foster shorter games with more action, which has become Manfred’s mission statement in recent years.
This season, MLB will debut a pitch clock (15 seconds with the bases empty, 20 with a runner on), a ban on defensive shifts and larger bases.
The clock is designed to speed up the pace of the games, while the other two should produce additional balls in play and spur more frequent activity on the basepaths.
The joint rules committee also made changes to the use of position players as pitchers, according to a source.
Position players will be allowed to pitch in extra innings; when their team is losing by at least eight runs; or when their team is winning by at least 10 runs in the ninth. Previously, it was permitted in extra innings or if a player’s team was losing or winning by at least six runs.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
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