New MLB commissioner Rob Manfred vowed to make pace of play a major issue when taking over for Bud Selig and he’s already poised to deliver. According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi, MLB will announce rule changes tomorrow. Below are some of the details:
1. Managers must challenge replays from dugout. 2. Batters must keep one foot in box unless an established exception occurs . . .
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 20, 2015
3. Play to resume promptly once broadcast returns from commercial break.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 20, 2015
I have no idea how much time was wasted last season while managers killed time to get a signal from their dugout on whether to challenge a play or not, but it was an obvious charade, so at least we are acknowledging that now. The challenge system still isn’t perfect, but this change should skim some time off. As far as Rule No. 2 goes, this was one of the pace of play measures which was tested in the Arizona Fall League and in theory it makes all kinds of sense. An “established exception” would be if an umpire grants a time out or there’s a foul ball, wild pitch or passed ball. No. 3 should be obvious, but it’s nice to see that MLB is trying to make it a priority.
The 20-second pitch clock drew the most attention in the Arizona Fall League, but MLB isn’t ready to go there yet. However, it will be tested in Double-A and Triple-A this season, so there’s still a chance it will be considered down the road.
