Position Players on the Mound: Mookie Betts Wants to Change the Rules

Position players taking the mound used to be an extremely rare sight in MLB. Whenever it happened, it was celebrated as one of those quirky moments that only baseball can offer.

Just think of the showdown between slugger Anthony Rizzo and hitter Freddie Freeman, or when Brett Phillips sprinted from the bullpen before taking the mound in a—let's just say—unorthodox manner.

However, it has become increasingly common for Major League managers to use position players during lopsided losses or insurmountable leads to conserve the bullpen.

In fact, in 2008, there were only three instances in which a position player pitched, whereas that number rose to 90 in 2019 and skyrocketed to a record-high 132 appearances on the mound by position players in 2022.

Then, ahead of the 2023 season, the Manfred administration amended the rulebook so that position players could only enter the game in extra innings if their team was trailing by at least eight runs at any point, or if they were leading by at least ten runs in the ninth inning.

And not everyone is happy about this, including Mookie Betts. In fact, even though the Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop believes baseball is in a great place with all the changes made in recent years, he thinks this particular aspect of the game should be eliminated.

Once position players come in to pitch, just call the game. That's pretty much it. Once you're down by ten runs and a position player comes in, just call it a day. It's a lose-lose situation. If you get a hit, it was bound to happen. And if you get put out, you got put out by a position player. I'd rather just go home at that point.

What do you think?

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