Aaron Boone open to mercy rule in MLB blowouts

The New York Yankees were on the wrong end of a thorough blowout on Thursday night, and manager Aaron Boone would be open to making some changes to prevent teams from having to play out the string.

Boone said Friday he would at least be willing to consider a mercy rule for blowouts, feeling that it would help prevent injuries and position players pitching, as well as mitigate bad blood from players violating the league’s so-called unwritten rules in lopsided games.

Aaron Boone says he wouldn't be opposed to some sort of mercy rule in the regular season for blowouts like last night. Said he thinks it would help cut down on some of the unwritten rule stuff about whether or not to swing on 3-0 in a lopsided game, etc.

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) August 16, 2019

Boone said he knows players sometimes find some levity in a guy like Mike Ford pitching but from his side he worries abour managing smartly but without risk of injury. For what it's worth he said he'd be fine with a mercy rule when his team is up, too.

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) August 16, 2019

No such proposal has even been floated by MLB, but it’s easy to see why a team wouldn’t want to play things out until the end of a 19-5 game like the Yankees did against the Cleveland Indians Thursday. It would certainly be a minor way to address pace of play, which MLB ranks as a priority.