It’s a small one, but Major League Baseball nonetheless has taken a step toward making games faster.
MLB and the MLB Players Association made official Thursday a series of rule changes that will be implemented in the 2017 regular season.
Highlighting the rule modifications is the controversial “no-pitch intentional walk,” in which teams can put a batter on base merely by signaling to the home plate umpire. The change might upset traditionalists, but it also could shave off a few seconds here and there.
The rules also give managers a maximum of 30 seconds to decide whether to challenge a play, and place a two-minute time limit on umpires to make a decision on replays. In addition, automatic replays of home runs won’t be triggered until the eighth inning instead of the seventh.
These changes won’t drastically cut down on time of play in 2017, but they do prove MLB’s willingness to address its length of game issue. The average time of an MLB game reached 3 hours in 2016, up from 2:56 in 2015, per the New York Times.
Baseball’s non-pace of play rule changes include one that prevents a pitcher from taking a second step toward home plate. That might as well be called the Carter Capps Rule, as the San Diego Padres reliever has a wacky delivery that has drawn criticism for skirting MLB guidelines.
Thumbnail photo via Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports Images
