MLB rule changes ‘going great,’ could use tweaks
PHOENIX — It has been a week and a half since Major League Baseball began playing with the most dramatic rule changes in history, adding a pitch clock, banning shifts, playing with enlarged bases, limiting walk-up music to 10 seconds, and you know what?
The game has managed to survive, just fine.
There are tweaks that managers and players would like to see with the pitch clock, and MLB had to issue guidelines to all teams clarifying that umpires will call a quick pitch before the batter “is reasonably set,’’ but all in all, it has succeeded beyond MLB’S greatest expectations.
There were only 1.4 pitch-clock violations per game last week, with game times averaging 2:38 compared to 3-hour games last spring.
It has been so smooth, MLB officials say, they are not currently considering a single modification to any rule.
“Things are going great right now,’’ one MLB executive said.
Still, players and managers have a few concerns, and certainly no one wants a regular-season game decided by a pitcher taking too long to throw a pitch, or a hitter taking too long to get into the batter’s box.
“I like the pitch clock,’’ Chicago White Sox veteran pitcher Lance Lynn says, “but there’s too much at stake for a winloss to be decided when games count because of a rule violation. You can’t end a game on a Ball 4 or Strike 3 because of a clock violation. It’s like a shot-clock, but you lose possession in baseball.
“You look at football in the last two minutes, there’s a different set of challenges. So maybe eighth in ninth inning of close situations, when the game is on the line, it goes back to where it was. It’s you versus me, let’s play it straight the last two innings.’’
The real fear is that during the tense postseason games, with the boisterous
sellout crowds, that fans could actually affect the outcome of games.
“Fans can disrupt the game,’’ Lynn says, “if you can get them to do things at the right time, and you suddenly can’t hear your headset.’’
More pitchers are calling their own game this spring wearing the Pitchcom device on their wrist, knowing that you can’t shake off the catcher more than twice, maybe three times, without running out of time.
It has already led to a few comical incidents.
“We saw (Royals veteran pitcher) Zack Greinke shaking himself off,’’ Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He was just pushing buttons until he got the one he wanted. He didn’t know what button he was pushing.
“The Pitchcom device, you’ve got to learn how to use it. There are nine buttons there. It’s kind of in a circle, it’s not easy. You’ve still got to get comfortable with it. It causes some anxiety.’’
Most managers surveyed have loved the pitch clock in the early-going, but say they would like to make a few modifications.
Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy hates the idea that if a baserunner calls timeout, the timeout will be charged to the hitter.
“That’s where there is some concern when the times goes on the hitter,’’ Bochy says. “I don’t like that.’’
The biggest adjustment, managers say, is getting used to the idea that the umpiring crews no longer are in charge of controlling the game. The umpires are instructed to enforce the rules to the letter of the law, no matter how unreasonable it may seem.
“The thing that stood out to me so far is that there are going to be some mistakes, there are going to be some issues,’’ Cubs manager David Ross says, “and we’re all working to get better. We’re so used to the umpires having everything down and locked in, and knowing how things go, this is new to them, too. There’s a lot of conversation the umpires, they’re kind of finding their new rhythm.”
Says Bochy: “Overall, I like it, I’m fine with the clock, I really am. A few coaches think they should add a couple of seconds, but I think they’ll get used it.
“Eventually, there will be some adjustments.’’
Managers, like David Bell of the Cincinnati Reds, believe that with pitchers having a limit of two disengagements before a balk is called on an unsuccessful third attempt, could create havoc with baserunners on first and third.
“There will be teams taking advantage of that for sure,’’ Bell says. “I know we’re spending time practicing that.’’
Says Bochy: “I do think that’s going to be one that talked about. You’re going to get some false breaks, and try to have a forced balk on you. It’s going to be interesting how the teams are going to be dealing with that. Every team is looking to see how they can use that to their advantage.’’
There are other potential problems, players cite, particularly if the pitch clock starts early after a player has run a long way for a ball and needs time to get back to his position.
“When a ball is hit in the gap, really every fielder on the field is running,’’ says Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell, “and some fielders are running significant distances. An outfielder may run 100 feet. We had an instance where guys are sprinting back to their positions as the pitch clock is going down.
“I don’t think that’s right, so I think there has to be some adjustments there.
“I do hope that Major League Baseball is responsive to that part of it.’’
Cubs first baseman Eric Hosmer had a game this spring when he was watching his foul pop-up land in the stands, but by the time he got back into the batter’s box, it was too late, and he was called for an automatic strike.
“I thought that was a little quick,’’ Hosmer said, “but I think it’s a situation where hopefully they see what the feedback is and modify it from there. But good to do it here, and not during Opening Day or the season.”
Certainly, picking up the pace of the game is one thing, players say but when New York Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta needs just 20 seconds for a three-pitch strikeout this past week, that’s not good for the game, either, let alone the beer vendors.
“I think we will find some things around the pitching clock that will need to be amended,’’ Counsell says. “I don’t think moving from 15 to 20 (seconds) is the answer, but I do think there are situations that happen, and we need to understand how are we going to handle that situation.”