With the new MLB schedule taking effect this season, we're just two weeks away from Opening Day! Which means my ridiculously extensive baseball preview is coming very soon. Which also means it's really coming down to the wire for any remaining unsigned free agents, although it no longer looks like there will be any really big names who'll be orphans come the start of the season.
It also means we'll soon see Rob Manfred's latest "pace of play" initiatives work their way into Big League ballparks (at least for April and the first part of May). Although, this year's new speed up rule is one I can actually get on board with. Teams will be limited to six visits to the mound over the first six innings. This includes both the manager coming out of the dugout and the catcher coming out from behind the plate or the entire infield congregating. They're still allowed to do it. They're just limited to six times.
How much of a tangible impact this will actually have remains to be seen, but I think we can all agree the sheer number of conversations with the pitcher was getting ridiculous. How many times did we see last year where it could be like the second inning and, as soon as he walks somebody, here comes the manager? Not to mention all the mound visits that served no other purpose than to stall so that the reliever could have more time to get ready. And I'm not even counting catchers coming out because they can't get on the same page as the pitcher.
They can still visit the mound in these situations. They just have to stop after the sixth one. Keep in mind, this doesn't include pitching changes, which is really what makes games grind to a halt in the late innings. But it's definitely a start. It makes managers and pitching coaches have to be much more selective about when they go out. Kinda like the way they have to determine whether it's worth a replay challenge in the third inning.
One of the things that I like the most about it, though, is that now the onus is put on the pitchers to figure stuff out on their own. They won't be able to rely on having their hand held in every situation anymore, at least not as much. And Baseball could definitely do without all the overmanaging. Frankly, managers should be able to trust their pitchers to get out of their own jams. Now they're gonna have to.
If the situation warrants a strategy or scouting meeting, that's when you use your mound visit. Seventh inning of a tie game with Mike Trout coming up? Absolutely go out and figure out what you want to do. Second inning with the eight-hitter coming up? Do you really need to talk about it? Probably not.
Although, I would like to see a slight adjustment, and that comes with the catcher and infield visits. Some catchers (and pitchers) are more guilty than others of having a conversation after every batter. But sometimes the catcher goes out there just to over signs (or to relay a message to the infield). Should that really count as a visit? Same thing when the first baseman comes over to say something about positioning and is basically telling the pitcher that he needs to cover the bag. Does that count too? And what about when the pitcher walks off the mound? If the shortstop comes up and says something to him, does that count?
Just like the ridiculously dumb no-pitch intentional walk, you'd be saving what? 45 seconds? And, frankly, those infield "meetings" that are now prohibited (or count as a mound visit) are generally about defensive positioning or something else where you can't really be on the same page unless you actually talk about it. Limiting the seemingly endless visits to the mound from the dugout, though? I'm very much in favor of that.
I'd be in favor of another measure that would definitely shave some time off of games. If you're a regular reader of this blog, it'll come as no surprise to you that one rule I'd love to see implemented would be limiting the number of throws to first base. How many times do we see a pitcher throw over to first repeatedly before even throwing a pitch, all the while the runner is about two steps off the base? (Albert Pujols isn't stealing! Worry about the damn hitter!) And, now that managers will be limited in the number of times they can visit the mound, I fear we're going to see even more unnecessary throws to first as a stall tactic so relievers can warm up.
Then there's the pitch clock. I'll admit, the timer between innings is actually kinda nice. As a fan, we know how long it actually is until the inning starts. This year, the pitch clock is absolute, and the pitcher isn't necessarily guaranteed his eight warmup pitches. Although, the penalties for violating the inning timer will be limited to warnings and fines.
We're not going to see the implementation of an actual pitch clock, which Manfred has really been pushing. You get the sense it's just a matter of time before the owners wear the players down on this one, though. They've had a 20-second pitch clock in the Minors for the past few years without too much push back, so you would think the resistance would actually be minimal. Most pitchers work within that 20-second time frame, anyway, so their adjustment will likely be minimal (Sonny Gray would have to just deal with it and figure it out).
Another rule change that they're trying in the Minors this season is the international tiebreaker in extra innings. A lot of people fear this will eventually work its way into the Majors, but I think the owners realize that change is too dramatic to make. I'm not overly crazy about it in the Minors, either, to tell you the truth. And I certainly don't like doing it right away when the game goes to the 10th. You at least play the 10th, and I'd even say the 11th, then if the game is still tied, you go to the tiebreaker in the 12th.
Again, it's necessary in tournament situations like the World Baseball Classic, but those super-long extra inning games have always been an endearing part of baseball. If they want to do it in Spring Training (when they normally don't play extra innings and games end in ties all the time), I guess I'd be fine with that. Some people have said they'd be OK with it in the All*Star Game, too, although I'm lukewarm about even that idea.
Fortunately, it looks like the international tiebreaker isn't coming to a Major League ballpark near you anytime soon. This might be our last year without the pitch clock, though. As for the reduction in mound visits, that's a welcome change. Now let's see how much time it actually saves.
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