If a reported new rule chance for extra innings goes well in the minor leagues, the 10th inning and beyond soon might look a whole lot different in Major League Baseball.
Much like the rules in this year’s World Baseball Classic, the MLB is considering starting each extra inning with a man already on second base, sources told Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan. The rule change, which already exists in international play, would be tested in the Gulf Coast League and Arizona League.
“Let’s see what it looks like,” MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre told Passan. “It’s not fun to watch when you go through your whole pitching staff and wind up bringing a utility infielder in to pitch. As much as it’s nice to talk about being at an 18-inning game, it takes time. It’s baseball. I’m just trying to get back to that, where this is the game that people come to watch. It doesn’t mean you’re going to score. You’re just trying to play baseball.”
Whether or not the new rule reaches MLB one day, it won’t change the pace of play during the regulation nine innings, which took a step back after some positive results in 2015 after a series of rule changes.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
