MLB announces new pace-of-play initiatives

Major League Baseball games are sometimes too long, there’s no doubt about it. In 2014, for the first time, the average game exceeded three hours. On Friday, MLB took its first steps in speeding up the game by announcing new pace-of-play initiatives. The new rules, announced by MLB, the MLBPA, and Pace of Game Instant Replay Committees, focus primarily on batters and non-game action.

The batter’s box rule will now actually be enforced, requiring batters to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box at all times unless exceptions, such as timeouts or wild pitches and passed balls, occur. If the batter leaves the box the umpire can award a strike. The rule was in place and enforced in the minor leagues in 2014.

The committee also wants play to resume shortly after television broadcasts return from between-inning commercials. Timers will be installed in two locations in every ballpark to measure non-game action and the breaks between innings. From the MLB release:

“Immediately following the third out of each half-inning, the timer will count down from 2:25 for locally televised games and from 2:45 for nationally televised games. An MLB representative attending each game will operate the timers from the ballpark and will track the following events:

Time Remaining	Activity
40 Seconds	PA announces batter and begins to play walk-up music
30 Seconds	Pitcher throws final warm-up pitch
25 Seconds	Batter’s walk-up music ends
20 Seconds-5 Seconds	Batter enters the batter's box
20 Seconds-0 Seconds	Pitcher begins motion to deliver pitch

Broadcasters will return from commercial with 20 seconds left on the clock, with the idea being the batter is already in the box and play about to resume.

All the rule changes will be enforced through a warning and fine system, though that won’t begin until May this season to give players all of spring training and the first month of the season to adjust.

Notably absent from the new rules, for now at least, is the proposed pitch clocks. MLB will continue to test the idea of a 20-second pitch clock in Double-A and Triple-A games this season.

Also, as part of the initiative, slight changes were also made to the MLB replay system, itself new in 2014. The modifications include:

• Managers can now call for a replay from the dugout and will not be required to go on the field. The exception to that rule is if the manager is challenging a play that ended an inning.

• Whether a runner left a base early, or tagged-up properly is now reviewable.

• Managers retain their challenge after every overturned call.

• Managers will now have two challenges during all playoff games, tiebreakers, and the All-Star Game.

New baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has come out swinging in his first month on the job and these changes may just be the beginning of big changes to come in the next few years. Here’s hoping they work for the better.