(Reuters) - Major
League Baseball instituted several rule changes on Friday designed to
step up the pace of play amid growing concerns that its games are
growing too long.
Among the changes is that batters must keep at least one foot in the
batter's box unless one of several exceptions occurs, like time is
called or the pitcher throws a wild pitch. Timers will also be added to
better track time and guide players, the league said.
MLB began to look for ways to address the issue in
September amid fears that fans of the national pastime will become bored
with the escalating length of games and flee to other quicker-paced
sports.
The average MLB game took 3 hours 2 minutes last season, nearly 30 minutes more than it did in 1981.
"These changes represent a step forward in our efforts to
streamline the pace of play," Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a
statement. "The most fundamental starting point for improving the pace
of the average game involves getting into and out of breaks seamlessly."
The new timers will measure non-game action and the time
between innings and pitching changes, counting down from 2:25 for
locally televised games and from 2:45 for nationally televised games.
Batters will be "encouraged" to get into the batter’s box with 20
seconds left on the timer, MLB said.
Pitchers can throw as many warm-up pitches as they want
prior to 30 seconds remaining on the clock but will forfeit any of their
traditional eight warm-up pitches that they cannot complete by that
deadline.
Braves President John Schuerholz, the chairman of MLB's Pace of Game and
Instant Replay committees, said he wants to take "measured steps" to
quicken baseball's pace.
"It is not an objective of ours to achieve a dramatic time
reduction right away," he said. "It is more important to develop a
culture of better habits and a structure with more exact timings for
non-game action."
All of the new rules will be enforced through a warning and fine
system, MLB said, with discipline resulting for flagrant violators.
MLB also announced several changes to its use of the
instant replay system, including allowing managers to challenge a call
from the dugout rather than by approaching an umpire.
"We're confident that today's announcements will have a
positive impact on the pace of the game without jeopardizing the
integrity of the competition," said MLB Players Association Executive
Director Tony Clark.
The rule changes will be effective in spring training, the regular season and the postseason.
These "new" rules will only slow down pace of play because coaches, players and umpires will have to learn them on the fly. Warm up pitch and batter clocks are only going to put an added element of chaos. If the last out is a catcher, he needs time to get his equipment back on. What if he takes "too long?"
Besides, the current rule book gives the home plate umpire the ability to manage the pace of the game. He does not have to give a batter time. He can warn a pitcher for stalling between pitches, including calling an automatic ball.
The institution of replay challenges has added several minutes to games. To quicken the pace of replay, allowing a coach to throw a towel or gesture at the umpires seems silly. And besides, the manager has to explain his protest in person to the crew chief, who may be at second base.
The only way to really speed up games is to coach and train pitchers to throw faster. Mark Buerhle is the poster child for a quick and efficient game.
