Home runs off of position players - including Yermín Mercedes of the Chicago White Sox hitting a home run on a 3-0 count against the Minnesota Twins' Willians Astudillo on Monday night and another one Thursday night by the Tampa Bay Rays' Joey Wendle in the ninth inning off of the Baltimore Orioles' Stevie Wilkerson - and games like Thursday's 19-4 rout of the Reds by the Giants at Great American Ball Park have sparked renewed debate about a Major League Baseball mercy rule.
National Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Reds great Johnny Bench told Dan Patrick earlier this week that he didn't take issue with Mercedes swinging away on Monday with a 15-4 lead in the ninth inning - though Bench added that he wouldn't necessarily have ignored a sign from the dugout.
"Just compete. Just play the game. If you don't want to play the game - if the game's over and you don't want to play - forfeit the game," former Reds and current Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer said earlier this week on his vlog. "Just say, 'We're done.' Forfeit. Walk off. Otherwise, just accept what's going to happen."
Some social media reactions, including from former Red and current New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone:
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