Free pass is now quicker
Intentional walks won’t require pitches this season.
There won’t be any wild pitches on intentional walks this season.
The players’ association has agreed to MLB’s proposal to have intentional walks without pitches this year.
“I know they’re trying to cut out some of the fat. I’m OK with that,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
While the union has resisted many of MLB’s proposed innovations, such as raising the bottom of the strike zone, installing pitch clocks and limiting trips to the mound, players are willing to accept the intentional walk change.
“As part of a broader discussion with other moving pieces, the answer is yes,” union head Tony Clark wrote Wednesday in an email to The Associated Press.
Said Yankees manager Joe Girardi: “I’m OK with it. You signal. I don’t think that’s a big deal. For the most part, it’s not changing the strategy, it’s just kind of speeding things up.”
There were 932 intentional walks last year, including 600 in the NL, where batters are walked to bring the pitcher’s slot to the plate.
Giants: Reliever Will Smith was shut down for a week with elbow inflammation in his pitching arm. An MRI revealed no structural damage, and Smith, the late-inning left-handed setup man, is still expected to be ready for opening day.
Pirates: Infielder Jung Ho Kang appeared in a South Korean court as judges heard arguments in a trial over charges that he fled the scene after slamming a car into a guardrail while driving under the influence of alcohol. The court said it will make a ruling March 3. It’s not clear when Kang will join the Pirates.
Rangers: Josh Hamilton, 35, was back in Texas to have his surgically reconstructed left knee examined after he experienced discomfort during the team’s first full-squad workout Tuesday in Arizona.
Angels: Pitcher Matt Shoemaker threw to live hitters for the first time since sustaining a serious head injury when he was struck by a line drive Sept. 4 in Oakland. “I felt great,” Shoemaker said. “Good to do it.”
Nationals: Shortstop Trea Turner missed the start of Wednesday’s workout in West Palm Beach, Fla., because of jury duty. Turner, from nearby Lake Worth, later arrived at the complex and made up for missed time, taking batting practice and fielding grounders.
Marlins: Ichiro Suzuki, 43, was held out of workouts following a collision with fellow outfielder Brandon Barnes on Tuesday. Manager Don Mattingly says he believes Ichiro, who was kneed in the quadriceps, will “be OK.” Barnes was not injured.
Yankees: Manager Joe Girardi said left-hander CC Sabathia, 36 and coming off arthroscopic knee surgery in October, likely will pitch in simulated games instead of spring training exhibitions during the first few times through the rotation.
Red Sox: Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who played only 11 innings last year before season-ending left shoulder surgery, said he’s under no limitations. “If it starts bothering me. they’re going to put a limitation on it, but not yet,” he said.