The “Golden At-Bat” rule isn’t coming to a stadium near you — at least not anytime soon.

At an Italian American Baseball Foundation event in New York on Thursday night, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred explained comments he made in a podcast last month regarding the potential rule change, which has sparked discussion about the viability of the idea.

“It’s a very long road from the interview stage to actually appearing in the MLB,” Manfred told the Yes Network on Thursday. “Don’t you like the idea? I wouldn’t worry too much about it at the moment.”

The golden at-bat rule, which Manfred says he doesn’t personally support, gives teams the option to send any batter of their choice to the plate once per game – potentially at any time.

In other words, if Bryce Harper had just ended the eighth inning with one out, the rule would allow him to be used again to lead the ninth inning or even just consecutive plate appearances in the same inning. This would allow the best players in the game to get an extra punch in critical situations, potentially bringing more excitement to the sport.

Manfred’s comments on the podcast sparked some backlash online after he revealed that there was some “excitement” during owners’ meetings in mid-November about the rule passed by the competition board.

“It was a very preliminary conversation that caused a stir,” Manfred repeated on Thursday. “I encourage owners to have conversations about the game.”

But a rule change of this magnitude would take years to reach the major leagues, if at all. Rule changes – such as the pitch clock – are undergoing intensive testing in the minor leagues. The golden at-bat rule would be no different, and a league official confirmed there are no plans to implement it in the minor leagues next season.

“It turns out that after I spoke publicly about this kind of change years ago, I wasn’t particularly in favor of it,” Manfred said Thursday. “It stays that way.”