MILB: Seeking faster pace

Minor League Baseball announced a series of rule changes Wednesday, created with Major League Baseball, as it continues to address what it perceives as a pace-of-play problem.

Starting this year, mound visits for Triple-a teams will be limited to six, there will be a 15-second pitch timer (down from 20) and once a game reaches extra innings, each inning will begin with a runner on second base.

That runner will be the previous hitter in the batting order.

Don Logan, president of the 51s, said changes at the minor league level will allow big league teams a chance to evaluate. Plus, in the majors, the players’ union has a say in rules changes. “So it’s to try things out at the minor league level to see what’s going to work and what’s going to help,” Logan said. He also said the changes are a way to “entice more younger fans to embrace the game.”

MILB had already implemented other pace-of-play regulations, including a 20-second pitch clock and a clock in between innings. It also adopted the automatic intentional walk, as has MLB.

But the new extra innings rule seems to be the most drastic new rule, and Logan said it was primarily geared toward keeping pitchers healthy.

“The extra-inning games really tax pitching staffs … and when you look at it from that perspective then yes, it makes sense,” he said.

New 51s manager Tony Defrancesco did not return a call for comment.

“We believe these changes to extra innings will enhance the fans’ enjoyment of the game and will become something that the fans will look forward to on nights where the game is tied late in the contest,” MILB president Pat O’conner said in a statement.

MILB will allow a grace period for the first 15 days of the season (April 5-19) with warnings to players about violations of the new rules. Starting April 20, the rules will be enforced.

“We feel that limiting mound visits and decreasing the amount of time between pitches with no runners on base will improve the pace of play and make it a more enjoyable experience for our fans,” O’conner said.

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Betsyhelfand on Twitter.