Why MLB’s “Ghost Runner” is NEVER going away

Here’s Brody Brazil. You probably already know the drill. If you’ve got something to say, it’s on your brain, you want to get it off your chest, call me right now. 8334 Brody. Your questions, your comments, your contributions to this YouTube channel. I listen to all the calls. I play and respond to the very best ones on future videos. Brody, this is Jeff from Bise, California. I was wondering if there’s any chance that baseball might do away with that awful ghostrunner rule in extra innings. not a big fan of it. I think games can end you, you know, without going to too many innings just because of the fact that there’ll be low leverage relievers. You know, you know, you’re pitching after like the 11th or 12th inning. The top relievers will have already been burnt and spent and the the low leverage relievers will be controlling the game. And so games can will end naturally, you know, and not go beyond the 12th inning because the neither team is using their best pitcher. And the only time that the extra innings are going to go be beyond say 12 or 13 innings is if by some miracle both low leverage relievers are both getting one two three innings are getting hitters out which is very rare because the they’re not the the the high leverage relievers that the team normally counts on. So I was wondering what your thoughts on that if there’s any chance the Ghost Runner will be eliminated from Major League Baseball. Thank you and I look forward to your video about that. Thanks. Right by Jeff here is that video. Thank you very much for your call. I just want to say like the difference between high leverage and lowle leverage relievers. I don’t know that every baseball team or general manager or field manager actually views their relievers that way. Yes, there are plus guys. There are other pitchers you put in when you don’t have the lead. Bullpens are definitely broken up like that, but in a situation like this, you don’t want to burn out anybody. You don’t want to burn out your closer. You don’t want to burn out your long man. You don’t want to burn out anybody because you’re you’re probably going to need them the next day, the day after that, and if you’re playing a 17 ining game on a Tuesday night, and you got to turn around and play a Wednesday day game, and it just complicates the matter so much. I just want to say, Jeff, I don’t fully subscribe to the Ghostrunner, the courtesy runner, the Manfred, man. I get this is not my favorite thing in the world, but I think it has to be this way. And it came to be in 2020 during the pandemic. They didn’t want to have very long games. They already had travel issues. They had a lot going on to try and to try and figure it out and to simplify games to make sure that they didn’t go remember the double headers they played. They had seven inning double headers. Like imagine that here in 25 and 206 and beyond. seven inning double headers, which by the way were not the worst things in the world either. But I digress. So they did this out of necessity in 2020, but they kept the rule from 20 to 22. And then they actually made the rule permanent in 2023. But for those first two years, the rule of putting a runner on second to start every extra half inning, it eliminated 420 total extra innings of baseball or 46.6 6 total games across the league over two seasons or 2021, three seasons. Can’t even do math. But that’s that’s a pretty extraordinary amount of cutting things down because here in 2025, how many baseball games have you seen go to well 13 or 14 innings? Well, here’s the facts on that. The longest game of 2024, last season as I’m recording this, was 12 innings, but 37 games reached 13 or more innings in 2019. In the last year of regular baseball and no ghost runners and no courtesy runners and no Manfred men, 13 or more innings happened 37 times in that one season alone. And last year, we didn’t even see a 13-ining game at all. It’s working, right? And nobody minds playing a 10th inning or an 11th inning, maybe even a 12th. But who is really desiring the 15th inning? Who’s sticking around for hour five of the baseball game? Especially if it’s an East Coast team that’s out west playing a late night game or a weekend game that has just taken too long. You got to finish these games. And it’s not just for the fans. I go back to those who are actually playing the game. It’s for the bullpens, right? Bullpens get trashed and destroyed in these long games. And now all of a sudden, you’re playing a 16th or a 17th inning. How many pitchers do you need to actually complete that? And then what do you do for the next couple days after that? It gets messy. It gets difficult. And not to mention, and I know people will say, “Well, yeah, it’s the game is more interesting if there is a 17th inning.” But it’s just a regular season game. A playoff game should have a 17th inning. That’s great drama. That’s great like controversy and that’s great emotions. A team’s season is on the line. Let them play a 17th inning. Let them do it the old school way. But in the regular season, I just don’t know if anybody actually needs that or is clamoring for that. And at some point, right, and I I look, I’ve covered a 16. Have I covered a 17 inning game? I think I have. You get to the point where you’re like, this is a movie that was good and should have ended in the 12th. You know, there are some movies that probably should have been 2 hours and 15 minutes instead of two hours and 57 minutes. such as the case for a baseball game. I think this goes for bullpens and interest levels and ratings and attention spans. It’s just a lot more reasonable to do it this way. Again, I wish there was a better way than it saying, “All right, runners on second.” Think about what you need to score with a runner on second. Like a bunt and a fly out or a ground out and a fly out and you score a run and maybe that’s how you win a game. And how’s that reliever supposed to feel? What an uphill battle that was supposed to be. Oh, I just gave a gave up a leadoff double and I’m taking the mound before even throwing a pitch. It’s never been fair. I’ve never liked that way about it. I don’t know what else to do. I really don’t. If there is a better solution that ends the game in an expeditious fashion, I’d love to hear it, but I don’t know if that actually exists. This rule became official in 2023. So they used it for 20, 21, and 22 and it worked and it cut down a lot of extra innings and it doesn’t get us really ever to a 13th inning. I think it’s going to last forever. I don’t think baseball is ever going back to regular extra innings the way it used to be in the regular season. Playoffs have always been that way. Should always be that way. I’m willing to see a 5-h hour playoff game, but a 5-h hour game on May 14th between two teams that are, you know, bottom of their division already and have no chance. What is the point? What are we doing here? There’s just no real reason for that. So, I hope that answer is acceptable. I’m willing to hear somebody out. If you disagree, let me know in the comments section below. How do you feel about this? Is the Ghostrunner, the courtesy runner, the Manfred man, is that here to stay forever? I think it is. What do you think? Also, thumbs up while you’re down there. Helps me the video in the channel. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button, too. I would love to see you back here next time.

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In MLB extra-inning games, each half-inning begins with an automatic runner placed on second base, known as the “ghost runner” rule. The player who made the last out of the previous inning is designated as the runner, and this runner must be moved and scored to tie or win the game. The automatic runner is not used in the playoffs; those games follow traditional extra-inning play with no automatic baserunners.

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32 comments

  1. Haven't liked this runner, since it was first implemented. Actually, I hate it.

    That being said, since they were going to do it anyway… bringing in the runner, in the 12th inning, makes so much more sense… to me.

    Basically, play 2 innings of regular extras. Then… if still playing, runner enters in the 12th

    But… oh well. I still hate it.

  4. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to baseball, and I'm the opposite of Jeff…I'm down with the "ghost runner". The problem with the original rule is that it burned out relievers and starters. I'm also old enough to remember a 19-inning game in 2014 between the Jays and Tigers. We won it, but it decimated our staff and we ended up falling out of a wild-card spot after that.

    There was also a play this past week in which Vlad threw out Altuve at third when the leadoff hitter hit a ground ball to him. We won the game in the bottom half of the 10th. Between plays like that and the swing and miss relievers that populate the game nowadays, a run isn't automatic.

    The other thing that people seem to forget is that bars often stop serving after the 7th. If you're a social drinker in the 16th/17th inning or later in a game and there's no bar, you might get a little salty. This happened during the 2014 game above.

  5. It's kind of similar to the shootout in regular season hockey. I don't mind the ghost runner but maybe start it after playing the 10th inning? But play full extra innings in the playoffs.

  6. As long as TV money calls the shots, the beer league softball rule will stay(apologies to beer league softball)

    If the new commissioner has a pair, the rule would disappear. Insert here 5 minutes of hysterical laughter for thinking the new commissioner would actually have a pair

  7. I'm with Bob Murphy, longtime Mets radio announcer, who once concluded his call of a really long extra-innings game with, "And the damn thing is over!"

    It's said that American fans abhor a draw, but what if we simply said, "Tied after nine innings, each team gets one point in the standings, and a win gets three…"? Would people stop watching or coming to games if the result could be a draw? I'm talking regular season here. The only reason it's done with playing extra innings is "It's always been done that way," which is never a good reason for anything.

    And I've never understood the NFL's reluctance to have regular season draws, and I've never understood why a returned kickoff for a TD should ever have ended a game while a FG didn't.

  8. I feel that the only other option would be to play a 10th Inning and then call the game if it's still tied. Otherwise, use the extra runner in extra innings if there has to be a winner. I have never understood why tie games in the regular season are treated as a 'bad thing' (I don't like shootout in hockey either, just let the game end in a tie.)

  10. I miss those 17 inning games. Been a few times when I've watched the A's play until 3AM Eastern. I know that's why they put the rule in but still, I miss those games

  11. suppose when 1885 a regular game is12 innings as a standard. than, a 9 inning game is to short the old fogeys always get thier way in my opinion reinstate the defense field shift smaller pay roll teams need it

  14. I wasn't initially a fan of the ghost runner. But it's been implemented well. And agreed, there is no need to burn out the entire staff to try and win an 18 inning game in the middle of the summer. They're not there for extras in playoffs, and it's best to keep them out of playoffs, but yeah regular season games dont need to drag for the sake of "traditionalism"

  15. Rob ManFRAUD is a lying POS. Remember his lies. It was only for the Wuhan season. ManFRAUD is a bigger liar than a used car salesman ( HI Budence Selig). I still did not get how the union allowed a % of its members to get totally screwed. Relivers can get tagged with losses for allowing a run that THEY NEVER WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING ON BASE! 2 Fly outs gives a reliever a LOSS. 2/3 of an inning 0 Hits 0 Walks 0 Earned Runs 2 Fly OUTS = A LOSS! ANYONE who supports this bastardazation of Baseball has no respect for 150+ years of history. This is not changing the game this is defiling it. PS Ask ANY Mets fan about the Rick Camp game LOL I Needed & wanted 16-17-18 inning games in the dead of summer. It was called BASEBALL!

  17. I have worked the situation you described with 17 innings , a 12:30am out time, 1:am home , asleep by 2am, up at 6am and back in for an 8am call for the next game. I fell asleep at a traffic light on the way home in rush hour. I was awakened by the car behind me blowing its horn. It could have been a lot worse.

  18. Why not wait until the 12th to place the runner? In the last 10 seasons before 2020, at least 80% of extra inning games would end before the 13th. On average, a team would play 12 to 13 extra inning games per season. 10 to 11 ended before the 13th. That's only 2 or 3 games per team per season going beyond the 12th. How is that too much?

  21. I prefer the extra innings to start with bases empty, if the games are required to be shorter, I prefer the games to end in a draw than with a Manfred man.

    I don’t like how a run can be scored with a bunt and a sac fly, nor how the Manfred runner can be pinch ran for, despite not making any effort to get on the base

  23. If you need a ghost runner, why not put him on first to start the inning rather than second? Male the offense work a little harder to bring him in. I always felt that way about the ghost runner.

  24. As someone who has to be at the office by 8AM, I am asleep by the time many extra innings roll around anyways.

    Honestly, I’m just happy people love baseball enough that there is a vested interest in the rule.

  26. I wasn’t a fan of the Ghost Runner at first but now I just think how much more better it is and wish they started that rule earlier.

    Not only does the Ghost Runner save the bullpen but it also gives players an extra couple of hours back. There’s already 162 games in 6 months (not including spring training and the postseason) and the 4 hour plus games are taxing. The Ghost Runner also makes each half inning so much more exciting.

    To those complaining, the rule isn’t for postseason games. Were there fun and exciting 16 inning games?? A couple, maybe, but the rest were just boring to watch, especially when there wasn’t a pitch clock involved (who wants to watch the batter step in and out of the box between each pitch on an already long game?!)

  29. It made sense during the pandemic. It feels like cheating to still use it. Maybe institute it in the 12th inning. This opinion is from someone who used to work in Minor League Baseball and once worked an 18 inning game.

  30. People who refer to the automatic runner as a "ghost runner" clearly didn't play games with a ghost runner as a kid. A ghost runner is an imaginary runner, meant to represent an actual person, used because a team doesn't have enough players to occupy bases.

    As for the rule, I second the idea that the game should play as normal from the 10th through (say) the 12th. Then invoke the international tiebreaker only if the score remains tied in the 13th, orwhatever we decide is the demarcation. I also agree that it should just go away in the postseason.

  31. Maybe keep the ghost runner but don’t start using it until the 11th inning. 10th inning would be a normal inning. 11th hav ethe ghost runner at 1st. 12th inning have the ghost runner on 2nd. 13th inning and subsequent inning ghost runner on 3rd.

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