New rule has share of backers
Baserunner rule worked in minors
Baseball has its answer to penalty kicks, overtimes and shootouts, and it figures to stir just as much debate as all those other forms of tiebreakers.
Major League Baseball will start each extra inning in this abbreviated, 60-game season by putting a runner on second base. The rule has been used since 2018 in the minor leagues, where it created more action and settled games sooner.
“It’s like ‘arena baseball,’ ” said Scott Thorman, who managed the Kansas City Royals’ Class A Carolina League affiliate in Wilmington, Del., in 2019.
Those words may cause traditionalists to shudder.
“I haven’t met anyone so far that likes it,” Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.
Dave Martinez, meet Christian Yelich.
“I think it’s great,” said Yelich, a Brewers outfielder and 2018 National League MVP. “As a player, there’s nothing worse than extra innings. Especially in a season like this, where you literally can’t take on that 15or 16-inning game with just how rosters are constructed and pitchers not being built up to where they usually are and not really having the option to draw from this minor league talent pool.’’
Indeed, MLB is experimenting with the rule this year in part to prevent marathon games from causing long-term damage to pitching staffs.
Brady Williams, who manages the Tampa Bay Rays’ Class AAA affiliate in Durham, N.C., said he initially considered the extra-inning format “Mickey Mouse baseball” but eventually appreciated how it reduced his bullpen’s workload.
According to Minor League Baseball data, 71% of extra-inning games ended after one or two innings in 2016 and it was about the same in 2017 (74%). With the new rule in place, that number climbed to 93% percent each of the past two seasons.
Cubs
A day after left fielder Kyle Schwarber revealed he and his teammates discussed the do’s and don’ts during the coronavirus pandemic, manager David Ross went one step further in discussing the limits.
“We’re staying out of bars,” Ross said in a conference call.
As of Thursday, the Cubs remained the only MLB team to not have a positive test among any players, but Ross now wants to keep daily updates close to the vest.
“We’ve kind of got to go the route of ‘we’ll let you guys know as soon as somebody tests positive,’ ” he said.