Jon Morosi of FOX Sports is reporting that MLB is “highly unlikely” to adopt a pitch clock for the 2015 season. The pitch-clock rule was being tested in the Arizona Fall League, which stipulated a pitcher had 20 seconds between pitches to get the ball back, get his sign from the catcher, and begin his delivery. Morosi says that the rule has insufficient support among Major League Baseball and the Players Association.
The starting pitchers that would have been most affected by the implementation of such a rule, using “pace” data from FanGraphs:
- David Price, Tigers: 26.6 seconds between pitches
- Jorge De La Rosa, Rockies: 26.0
- Clay Buchholz, Red Sox: 25.6
And relievers:
- Joel Peralta, Rays: 32.1
- Junichi Tazawa, Red Sox: 31.8
- Tony Sipp, Astros: 30.3
- Joaquin Benoit, Padres: 30.3
Some other rules will be up for consideration when MLB owners hold their quarterly meetings in Arizona, including a possible amendment to Rule 7.13, a rule stipulating that runners have to slide directly into second base in an attempt to break up double plays, and a one-foot-in-the-batter’s-box rule.