CC Sabathia addresses extra-inning ghost-runner becoming permanent

Former New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia has explained why he's in favor of MLB embracing a permanent so-called "ghost-runner rule" for extra-inning games. 

"We don’t get paid for overtime," Sabathia said during a Tuesday appearance on the WFAN "Tiki and Tierney" program, as shared by Ryan Chichester of Audacy. "Let’s get this game over with."

ESPN's Jesse Rogers and others reported Monday that the rule involving a runner beginning each half of an extra inning on second base — which began during the 2020 campaign held during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic — is now a full-time aspect of MLB regular-season contests. Sabathia backed the league's decision for a reason other than decreasing the lengths of games which previously sometimes lasted for hours before a team scored even a single run during extra frames. 

"Most of the time, whoever pitches those extra innings, a guy gets sent down," Sabathia told Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney. "He gets penalized for that. Let’s get the game over with and keep our roster intact and not have a guy be penalized for pitching in extra innings. A lot of the times, the home team ends up winning the game anyway…it works out."

Such a take from a retired pitcher, let alone a Cy Young Award winner, is hardly surprising. Back in March 2022, The Athletic's Jayson Stark and Matt Gelb noted that "sources said the union surveyed player reps for all 30 teams...to gauge player interest" regarding the "ghost-runner rule" and found that "players heavily support it." Rogers wrote for Monday's piece that pitchers and front-office personnel are widely in favor of avoiding marathon games that can damage throwing arms and impact roster decisions beyond a single day. 

Baseball traditionalists may dislike the ghost-runner, but it seemed clear as far back as early last year it was a matter of when, not if, the rule would become a permanent fixture of big league seasons.