Champion Judge wins over viewers

With home runs, MIAMI — strikeouts and game times at record levels, Commissioner Rob Manfred says baseball is open to making changes in the sport’s rules.

Major League Baseball proposed several initiatives last offseason, including a 20-second pitch clock, a limit of one mound trip by a catcher per pitcher each inning and raising the bottom of the strike zone slightly to its pre1996 level. The only change the union agreed to was to allow intentional walks to be signaled without throwing pitches.

“There have been dramatic changes in the game, the way the game’s taught, the way the game is played at the big league level,” Manfred said Tuesday during a meeting with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. “There is a dramatically increased toler- ance for strikeouts by offensive players. There’s much, much more emphasis on the home run as the principal offensive tool in the game. There’s a dramatic increase in the use of relief pitchers, even to the point of kind of a rotating bottom of the roster between Triple-A and who’s in the big leagues.”

The percentage of plate appearances resulting in home runs peaked at 2.99 percent in 2000, the height of the Steroids Era, according to data compiled by the commissioner’s office. After sinking to 2.28 percent in 2014, it rose to 2.67 percent the following year, 3.04 per- cent last season and 3.30 percent this year.

The percentage of plate appearances resulting in strikeouts has increased for 12 consecutive years, from 16.4 percent in 1999 to 21.6 percent this season.

“Fans like home runs, it seems, and fans like strike- outs, it seems, and we have a lot of both,” players’ asso- ciation head Tony Clark said.

Manfred agreed, but only if the strikeouts are by a dominant pitcher, such as a Clayton Kershaw.

“I think where it gets troubling from a fan perspective is tons and tons of strike- outs, no action, lots of pitching changes,” Manfred said.

The average ratio of relievers to starters per game has climbed from 2.01 in 1990 to 3.15 last season. It stands at 3.10 this year at the All-Star break but rises each season after active rosters expand from 25 to 40 on Sept. 1.

MLB also is concerned about the increasing length of games. Nine-inning games have averaged 3 hours, 5 minutes this season, up from 2:56 in 2015. On other topics: ■ MLB may award multi- ple All-Star Games to host cities. Next year’s game will be at Washington and in Cleve- land in 2019. The Dodgers (who last hosted in 1980) and Cubs (1990) hope to get All-Star Games.

■ MLB expects its efforts will cause a rebound in the number of African-American players, just 7.7 percent on opening-day rosters this year, down from 18 percent in 1991. “I think the draft results suggest that we have made a difference and I’m very optimistic you will see an increase in the number of African-American players at the big league level,” Manfred said.

Among the most MIAMI — unlikely All-Stars is a former 17th-round draft pick with one career home run.

Brad Mills didn’t swing a bat Tuesday night. But he did pinch-hit.

The Cleveland Indians bench coach managed the American League team as a replacement for Indians manager Terry Francona, who is recovering from a procedure last week to correct an irregular heartbeat.

“Getting this responsibility is very humbling,” Mills said. “I’m thrilled to be here, but I definitely would love to have Terry sitting here in this chair.”

If not for Francona’s health issue, Mills would have taken part in the game as a coach. Now he was responsible for running a 32-man team and getting most of the players into the game.

He had some help with the starting lineup from Fran- cona, who paid Mills a visit

Aaron Judge’s vicMIAMI — tory in the All-Star Home Run Derby drew the event’s most viewers in nearly a decade.

The slugfest Monday night was seen by 8.69 million viewers on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and the company’s livestreams. That was up 55 percent from last year’s 5.62 million, the most since 2008’s 9.12 million and the second-most since 1999’s 8.91 million.

The derby got a 10.8 rat- ing in New York, the highest since market records began in 1998. With Mike Mous- takas of the Royals among the eight sluggers in the contest, it drew a 13.6 rating in Kansas City, the largest among metered markets.

Asked whether he thought of himself as the next Babe before the Indians’ game Sunday.

“When he came in the clubhouse he sat down, and the first thing he said to me is, ‘OK, who’s hitting sec- ond?’ ” Mills said. Both knew it was a given Jose Altuve of the Astros would lead off. Jose Ramirez of the Indians will bat second.

Despite contrasting per- sonalities, Francona and Mills have been close since they were college teammates at Arizona in the 1970s. Mills serves as the straight man while Francona delivers punchlines.

Together they could per- form “Who’s on First?”

“Brad’s the anti-Tito,” Indi- ans All-Star reliever Andrew Miller said.

“To watch them work together and see how dif- ferent they are, and yet how much they do like each other, it’s pretty special. I don’t know if they could be more different.” Ruth, Judge demurred.

“No. I think of myself as a little kid from Linden, California, getting to live a dream right now,” he said before Tuesday night’s AllStar Game.

Judge hit 47 home runs in

Francona and Mills hardly look at each other during games, their eyes fixed on the field as they shift the defense, analyze pitches and at-bats and plan moves.

Deciding the AL batting order was another result of their teamwork, Mills said.

“You really couldn’t do wrong with putting anybody anywhere in the lineup that we have,” he said. “It was more about this being a show, let these guys show what they can do. Up and down the lineup we can shuffle it, put anybody in there.”

Mills will be assisted by the rest of the Cleveland staff and by Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash, who previously worked for the Indians.

Francona and the staff earned the opportunity to lead the AL All-Stars after guiding the Indians last year to the World Series, their first since 1997.

While Mills, 60, has never before led such a star-stud- the derby that totaled 3.9 miles, including four drives more than 500 feet. He also hit the Marlins Park roof, about 160 feet above the field.

The rookie right fielder for the New York Yankees leads the major leagues with ded lineup, he’s a lifer.

“This was definitely thrust on him,” Miller said, “but the recognition and spotlight are very well deserved.”

Mills broke into the majors as a third baseman with Montreal in 1980 and was finished by 1983, after 106 games. He began coaching in 1987 and in 1997 joined the Phillies, where Francona was a rookie manager.

They were also together in Boston, where Mills helped Francona manage the Red Sox to the World Series championship in 2004, ending the team’s 86-year title drought. Mills was still coaching for Francona when the Red Sox won the championship again in 2007.

Mills managed the Astros for 2½ seasons beginning in 2010 but was fired after going 171-274 (.384). When Francona was hired to manage the Indians in 2013, Mills rejoined him.

“Millsy and Tito are pretty much joined at the hip,” Indians All-Star right-hander Corey Kluber said. “It might be Brad Mills managing the team, but it’s not going to be that much different than if it was Tito.” baseball 30 home runs.

“Aaron Judge has been absolutely phenomenal. I mean, there is no other word to describe it,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday, “He is a tremendous talent on the field, a really appealing off-the-field per- sonality, the kind of player that can become the face of the game.”

Manfred said the Home Run Derby is different for players than the day to day of the season.

“Our game’s a team sport, right? That creates inher- ent limitations in term of how big a star any individual player’s going to become. It actually creates reluctance among players sometimes to market themselves,” Manfred said. “The great thing about the Home Run Derby, when you think about, it’s the one thing that we do on a national scale where you go out there and it’s about you as an individual player, and he certainly stepped up last night.”