#3,339 – HR Swing Off

Major League Baseball tried something new this year at the All-Star Game in Atlanta after the game went into extra innings, something that the players and managers seemingly weren’t even aware of: a HR swing off! Similar to a shootout in hockey or soccer, the swing off would decide the outcome of the game rather than having it end in a tie or continue on to extra innings.

In the swing off, each team would send up three hitters (supposedly determined before the game started) and each hitter would get three swings to try and hit a homerun in a makeshift home run derby. Whichever team hit the most home runs would win the swing off and the game.

The American League and Aaron Boone foolishly sent up Brent Rooker, Randy Arozarena, and Jonathan Aranda while the NL countered with a much stronger contingent of Kyle Stowers, Kyle Schwarber and the Polar Bear Pete Alonso and to no one’s surprise the NL won with Alonso not even needing to swing after Schwarber went 3 for 3.

Why didn’t the AL run out their top two MVP candidates and home run hitters in Aaron Judge and the Big Dumper Cal Raleigh? And why didn’t the NL use Shohei Ohtani? Well, by this point in the night most of the players who had started the game had already left. With the rule essentially being that you could only use players who were still in the game.

It was a great success even with its impromptu nature and lack of star power adding some late-night theatrics to a game that was already pretty exciting with the AL coming from behind late to tie things up. So much so that people are now wondering if we should add HR swing offs to regular season games. Maybe we’d still play one extra inning under normal rules. But after that? Why not turn to a HR swing off instead of an 11th inning?

You could even spruce things up even more than this first iteration. Perhaps allow teams to place outfielders on the warning track to try and rob the homerun attempts like that kid who robbed one of the homeruns during the HR Derby.

In addition to adding excitement to the end of the game it would come along with some added benefits as well. For instance, it would encourage fans to stay to the end of the game in hopes of seeing a swing off, boosting concession sales. It could also impact roster construction and game strategy. Instead of taking out sluggers late in the game for defensive replacements now you’d have to leave those guys in so they can be eligible to participate in the swing off. Or if bench players are allowed to participate, you’d want to roster a home run hitter instead of a speedster who can pinch run. Suddenly beer league softball player types would have a lot of more value.

Purists will undoubtedly complain about this rule change but honestly is it any worse than starting innings with a ghost runner on second? MLB is worried about games dragging on and overworking their pitchers while also trying to make the games faster-paced and more exciting to appeal to a younger generation. A HR swing off would make the game more entertaining and create more interest in the product so it should be strongly considered. Just don’t let Aaron Boone make the lineup.

Should every tied game end in a HR swing off?