In a move that will surely make some people upset, Minor League Baseball passed rules that are in essence attempts to improve the pace-of-play. Similar rule proposals have been floated as possibilities in the Majors but it seems like they will be tested in the Minors first.
That’s not a bad strategy. Testing out rule changes in the Minors first will give you info about whether or not the rule changes actually shorten gametime and whether or not it drastically affects the concept of the sport.
The rule change that is likely to make the biggest impact on both ends is that in extra innings, the person in the batting order who is right before the leadoff batter will automatically be on second base. And for the stats enthusiasts, the runner on second base will be considered there based on a fielding error but no errors will be counted and it will also not count toward a pitcher’s ERA.
A runner starting an inning in scoring position is certainly going to make extra inning games end earlier. Most games are probably going to end in the 10th. And while this rule will theoretically cause games to end earlier, this could lead to teams playing outrageously conservative by focusing on getting the runner from second into home so you have at least one run on the board. That would mean a lot of sac flies and bunts to get the player home. That wouldn’t necessarily mean the play will be that exciting.
In addition, pitcher mound visits by anyone will be limited based on the league level. The higher the league the fewer the visits allowed, from six in AAA to ten for A. Pitch timers will also be instituted with a 15 second timer when the bases are empty to 20 seconds when someone is on base.
[MiLB]