The pace of play in baseball has been a hot topic of late with the imposition of the new signal from the dugout for intentional walks. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has been very vocal in his desire to shorten games and make the time go by faster and while taking the 4 lobs to the catcher will have very little impact towards that end, Manfred has made it clear that such moves and more like them are high on his priority list whether the MLBPA likes it or not.
One such proposal has been the imposition of a pitch clock that will both get batters in the batter’s box quicker as well as make sure that pitcher’s aren’t taking too much time between pitches. The proposal got enough traction that at the beginning of 2015, the pitch clock was instituted for Double-A and Triple-A. I could go through the rules specifically, but MiLB did a great job explaining all the nitty gritty details right here. The short version: batters need to be set in the batters box within 20 seconds of the in-between inning break and pitchers have 20 seconds between pitches. There is more to it than that and there is some leeway, but that is the gist.
Results of the pitch clock did achieve some success towards that end after the inaugural season with leagues that had it cutting anywhere from 6-16 minutes from their average game times (it is worth noting there was a drop-off throughout the minors in 2015 and not just in leagues with the pitch clock). Manfred’s resolve has been steeled by the results with the hope that players will get used to the clock as they make their way through the high minors.
While there is certain to be a fight with the player’s union over the imposition of the rule at the major league level, I wanted to see what the players in the minors thought of the pitch clock. While their identities will remain anonymous, I did ask a mix of pitchers and position players with some having experience with the clock and others not. Here are their takes:
From Position Player 1: “Honestly, I am on and off about it. I know the league is trying to speed the game up to keep interest, but at the same time there are just too many pitchers that have a slow pace and I feel like that effects them and takes away from how the game was originally meant to be.”
From Pitcher 1: “I'm a fast working pitcher so I don't think I'll find any problems with it. But the only part I don't like is that hitters might feel more comfortable knowing that the pitcher has to throw the ball. Runners will also be paying attention.”
From Position Player 2: “Well, it might help speed up the game, but if the pitcher is struggling and needs a blow to regroup and get things back together, I think he will need more than just 20 seconds. I don’t think it will affect any of my decisions.”
From Pitcher 2: “I honestly don't even think about it. I work relatively quick so it's not an issue. The only thing I don't like is the clock in between innings. Especially after a long inning or if you're on deck or make the last out as a pitcher. It can be a rush to get out there and get it going. Some umpires are cool about it and have some feel though. I like that it makes hitters get in the box.”
And finally...Pitcher 3: “Don't like it. Tempo in minors is fast enough as is.”
It is also worth noting that in talking to some of these players, no one seems to like the idea of adding a runner on second base in extra innings which is another proposal that has been floated by MLB.
The coming years will be interesting as the very rules of the game of baseball could be changed or at least challenged for the sake of attracting younger fans and to shed baseball’s perception of being slow and drawn out. While it is very much unclear as to how successful this efforts will be, it may be even more unclear as to how the players who are serving as guinea pigs for the rules changes themselves.
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