What is the Ghost Runner? Definition and Examples
The ghost runner is an automatic runner placed on second base at the start of each extra-inning half-inning in MLB regular-season games, introduced in 2020 and made permanent in 2023.
What the Ghost Runner Is
The ghost runner — officially the "automatic runner" or "extra-innings runner," and informally the "Manfred Man" — is a runner placed on second base at the start of each half-inning in extra-inning games during the MLB regular season. The rule was introduced in 2020 as a COVID-era pace-of-play experiment, kept on a year-to-year basis, and made permanent for the regular season in 2023. The intent is to shorten extra-inning games and reduce the risk of teams burning through their bullpens in marathon nights.
How the Ghost Runner Rule Works
At the start of the 10th inning — and every subsequent half-inning that goes the distance — the batter who made the final out of the previous inning is placed at second base. A pinch runner may substitute for that player. The mechanics:
- The runner is not charged as a hit, error, or any defensive miscue.
- If the runner scores, the run does not count against the pitcher's earned-run average — it's scored as an unearned run for ERA+ purposes.
- The runner is not treated as an inherited runner for relief-pitcher accounting.
- The rule applies only in the regular season — postseason games revert to traditional extra innings with the bases empty.
- A team may pinch-run for the placed runner, and managers regularly do for slower hitters.
Worked Example
In a tie game heading to the 10th, suppose Aaron Judge made the final out of the 9th. To start the 10th, Judge (or a substitute) is placed at second base. A leadoff single drives him in for the winning run. Judge's run counts on his stat line, but the pitcher who allowed the hit is not charged with an earned run. Across MLB since 2020, extra-inning game length has dropped sharply — most games now end in the 10th or 11th, where pre-2020 marathons routinely stretched to the 14th, 15th, or beyond.
Why the Ghost Runner Matters
Strategy in extra innings changed overnight. The visiting team in the 10th now plays for one or two runs, often bunting the runner to third or executing for a sac fly. The home team in the bottom half issues intentional walks more aggressively to set up the double play. Closers and high-leverage relievers see more usage because leverage index starts elevated with a free runner already in scoring position. For DFS and fantasy, the rule inflates RBI and runs for hitters who bat with the ghost runner aboard. Sabermetrically, win probability added and run-expectancy tables had to be rebuilt because the starting state of an extra inning is no longer "bases empty, no outs."
Limitations and Common Misconceptions
The ghost runner is not used in the postseason — playoff extras revert to traditional rules, which means strategy and bullpen usage diverge sharply from regular-season tendencies. People also assume any run scoring from the ghost is "unearned" across all stats — it's only unearned for the pitcher's ERA, not for the batter's RBI or the team's runs. And the rule is sometimes confused with older "tie-breaker" formats in international and minor-league play, which had similar but distinct mechanics (e.g., starting from the 12th, or letting the manager choose the runner).
Related Terms
In Legends Deck
Our extra-innings simulation faithfully models the ghost runner. When a game goes to the 10th, the engine spawns a free runner at second based on lineup order, recalculates leverage, and adjusts run expectancy. Cards with high contact rates and sprint speed become disproportionately valuable in extras — a pinch-running specialist in the 10th is worth more than the same card in the 1st. Real rules, real simulation.