Opinion: Pace Of Play In Major League Baseball Is Ridiculous

Major League Baseball officially announced their 2018 “pace of play initiatives” today, verifying there will be no “pitch timer” or “between-batter timer” this season. The announcement reads in part:

 

Major League Baseball on Monday announced rule changes for the 2018 championship season designed to improve the pace of play. After receiving substantial input from the Major League Baseball Players Association and Club personnel, MLB’s Competition and Playing Rules Committees recommended that Commissioner Rob Manfred proceed with a rule change limiting the number of mound visits in a game and a rule designed to reduce the time required for inning breaks and pitching changes. The Commissioner has decided to defer the implementation of a pitch timer and a between-batter timer in 2018 in order to provide players with an opportunity to speed up the game without the use of those timers.

 

Commissioner Manfred said: “I am pleased that we were able to reach an understanding with the Players Association to take concrete steps to address pace of play with the cooperation of players. My strong preference is to continue to have ongoing dialogue with players on this topic to find mutually acceptable solutions.”

 

The Commissioner’s Office also is taking steps to expedite the replay review process and to deter sign-stealing through the use of electronic equipment. MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to meet during the 2018 championship season to continue to discuss pace of play. A full description of the 2018 changes is attached hereto.

 

The statement then goes into a summary of the official rules being implemented for the 2018 season, including a limit of six mound visits per nine innings (then one per inning in extras) and a timer for inning breaks declaring when the first pitch of an inning of half inning must be thrown. The batter’s box rule remains the same from last season.

 

If you check out the Twitter post from the MLB announcing the new initiatives, the vast majority of people are not happy about the changes, with some people calling for Commissioner Rob Manfred’s job and others saying Commissioner Manfred is ruining the game. We know the players do not like Major League Baseball executives tinkering with the game, as the MLB would have included the pitch timer and between-batter timer if they didn’t fear outrage from the players.

 

Even without them implemented for 2018, the fact that the MLB says it will “provide players with an opportunity to speed up the game without the use of those timers” likely caused some anger and vexation for them.

 

It’s easy to see what Major League Baseball is trying to do: Get a segment of sports fans in a generation that seemingly likes football and basketball more than baseball, which is considered by some to be a “boring” sport. But the issue for the MLB is they are at risk of alienating their hardcore fans. Baseball has never had a clock, and as the responses on the Twitter post indicate, most fans of the game don’t like that Major League Baseball appears determined to head in that direction.

 

Of course, many baseball games can get a bit ridiculous in length, but I don’t think you should mess with the game to speed it up. If some impatient Generation Z and Millennials (it’s not all of them, but a good amount of them) don’t have the attention span of three minutes let alone three to watch a baseball game, that’s their problem. Seriously, I’m not a 100% diehard MLB fan that can’t wait for the season and watches every game I can; but I am a fan, and attempting to appease restless people might just drive me away.

 

And how much longer is the game going to be sped up? Probably not enough that it’s worth it. Is cutting the game by 15 minutes worth angering the players and fans? Most would argue it would just ruin the game.

 

Mount visits are a critical part of a game that still involves going over strategy. Making sure things like defensive positioning and how to approach a better are critically important decisions, and to limit those opportunities doesn’t feel right. Ideally, mound visits won’t even reach six in a clean game, but the fact they are putting a limit isn’t good.

 

Also, if the MLB is really worried about speeding up the game, maybe they should go with less commercial breaks. That means less ad revenue, so it’ll never happen; but a lot of fans see through it and realize they are messing with the actual on-field product because they don’t want to mess with business—which, it’s hard to blame them for doing as a business, but both can happen: Just keep the game the same, without timers, and keep your commercial breaks. By pushing these changes, players and fans see a bunch of “suits” that don’t realize what they’re doing to the sport.

 

We aren’t all the way there yet, but the MLB clearly wants to speed up the game and is making changes to mound visits and things that have been the norm for well over 100 years. It’s a slippery slope they’re on, as the players aren’t likely to speed things up on their own to satisfy the rule-makers, and adding more timers to baseball could push long-time fans away.