Yanks' Boone: Worth exploring MLB 'mercy rule'

As the Little League World Series hits full steam this weekend, there's at least one rule that New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone wouldn't mind seeing the majors consider.

During a news conference Friday, Boone responded to a question about the idea of Major League Baseball implementing a "mercy rule," saying it would be nice to end a game that had gotten out of hand early rather than go through the motions of completing nine innings.

"If you get to this point after seven innings or whatever, there might be something to that, some merit to that and worth exploring," Boone said of a potential mercy rule. "Because it's not fun to have to put in a position player in that kind of situation."

Boone might have liked to see that option Thursday, when the Yankees turned to rookie designated hitter Mike Ford for two innings of relief amid a 19-5 thrashing by the Cleveland Indians. It was the first time a Yankees position player completed two innings on the mound.

"Sitting in my chair, you worry about hurting someone," Boone said. "You hate throwing up a flag like that, and sitting there and getting kicked in the mouth is no fun."

Boone said he thought a regular-season mercy rule could make sense, in part due to ongoing methods to protect pitchers' usage.

In the Little League World Series, a game is called off if a team leads by at least 10 runs after the fourth inning of the six-inning contest or 15 runs after three innings.