"You strike Shohei Ohtani out... I have to face him again?" - Roger Clemens questions MLB's new proposed 'Golden At-Bat' rule

There's significant buzz around MLB's proposed Golden At-Bat rule, but former All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens isn't too thrilled about it. The rule has been discussed and will likely be talked about in further detail at the Winter Meetings, but there has already been significant backlash from plenty of people.

Clemens brought up an interesting hypothetical where this would be a frustrating situation for a defense or pitcher:

"Hypothetical…. You have bases loaded no outs and Ohtani is up. You strike him out. Then they can just use this rule to let him stay up and I have to face him again?"

With the Golden At-Bat rule, teams might have to face stars twice in a row. In Clemens' situation, it would be Shohei Ohtani twice in a row, essentially giving him six strikes to make a play. Hitters like Ohtani don't need that many to get something in play most of the time.

It would add a level of strategy for the offense, but it would put a difficult burden on the pitching and defense. Instead of knowing they have the seven, eight, and nine hitters up to close out the ninth, they may at some point have to face the team's best hitter even if he's not due up.

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What is the Golden At-Bat rule?

For now, the Golden At-Bat rule is just a theoretical. There is no indication of whether or not this will be implemented other than "buzz" by owners. It remains a long way away from happening.

However, if it does happen, it's worth knowing what it entails. The rule would state that at any time each team could send up any hitter they want in any situation. If the six and seven batters get into scoring position, a team could call on their best hitter to have a chance at driving them in.

The Golden At-Bat rule could come into play (Imagn)

It would make managing the bullpen at the end of games a lot more challenging because it would not be about navigating the lineup but about predicting when that Golden At-Bat might happen. Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and others could be lurking at any point.

It would also have significant ramifications for when pitchers are swapped in with the three-batter minimum. If a pitcher is called on to face certain hitters and the opposing team sends up a different one, they would be at a disadvantage but forced to stay in.