The Philadelphia Phillies’ Golden Batter would be first baseman Bryce Harper

The Philadelphia Phillies wouldn’t have much to think about if MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred came out today and said, “We are implementing the ‘Golden Batter’ Rule for the 2025 season.”

It’s something owners have been discussing lately, even if it isn’t implemented until 2025, and it would change the entire landscape of Major League Baseball.

For those who don’t know, the “Golden Batter” or “Golden At-Bat” rule would allow a team to have any player on their roster hit once in the game at any time, even if they are already in the lineup and it is not your turn to do so.

Think back to the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where the finale fell to (then) teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. It could be this situation, but for every game.

For the Phillies, their “Mike Trout” in this scenario would be none other than their superstar first baseman, Bryce Harper.

Over his career, Harper hit .281/.389/.522 with 336 home runs, 976 RBI and an OPS+ of 143 in 7,085 plate appearances in 1,653 games. The superstar has won two National League MVPs, four Silver Slugger Awards and was an eight-time All-Star.

A runner on third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of a tied game and at the bottom of the lineup? No, here comes Harper instead of Johan Rojas.

The “Golden Batter” is a concept that the Savannah Bananas introduced into their exhibition games along with all of their other crazy rules. The batter is eliminated if a fan in the stands catches a foul ball. When there is a base on balls, the batter must sprint to first base and advance as far as possible while the defense tosses the ball around to each fielder before they can attempt to call it out – show/sports entertainment type things.

Manfred made it clear that the concept is only at a very early stage of discussion between him and the owners. Even considering how much the sport of baseball has changed during Manfred’s tenure as commissioner, this might be a step too far.

Regardless of whether this happens or not, it’s still a fun discussion and an interesting exercise in thinking about who the “Golden Batter” would be for each team.

It wouldn’t take much time for Philadelphia to think before coming to the foregone conclusion of Bryce Harper.