*FAN SUBMISSION by Viktors Bebris of Rockville, MD.
Courtesy: USA Today
The MLB is experimenting with some new rule changes for the 2015 season. The feeling is that the MLB needs to speed up its game to keep pace with the NFL, NBA, and NHL. These are the six most popular sports in the United States, As of 2014 the Harris Poll asked fans aged 18 and over about which sport they liked most.
The NFL was considered by the general population as their favorite sport, a whopping 35 percent said so in the poll. The MLB came in second with 14 percent of the vote. NCAA football was third with an 11 percent, NASCAR at 7 percent, the NBA at 6 percent, and in sixth place came the NHL at 5 percent.
Looking at these numbers by the Harris Poll the average person would say that being in second behind the juggernaut of the NFL is not a bad thing. On the one hand the MLB is behind the NFL by 21 percent of the vote, in this poll. The NHL in the early 2000’s had an overhaul of their rules to create more offense to gain more viewership. The MLB should try to increase the speed of the game to improve its viewership and the general feeling of its game among the populace.
One main thing that the casual viewer will say about baseball is that it takes forever. The average MLB game takes roughly 3 hours. These changes have the potential to decrease the game by a half hour.
Courtesy: Fox Sports
The first rule change is the “Batter’s Box” rule, which states that the batter must keep at least one foot in the batter’s box during their at-bat. There are a few exceptions to this and one example is if the player is injured. They can leave the batter’s box, but they must stay in the dirt area around home plate.
This may seem an insignificant rule, but in the marquee Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees matchup their games can last well over 3 and a half hours because each batter is trying to prolong their at-bat to make the opposing pitcher loose more energy an or focus.
MLB is also adding a No-Pitch Intentional Walk. This is an interesting rule change because it will decrease the pitch count. This rule states that if the opposing team wishes to intentionally walk a batter, the pitching team’s manager has to signal with four fingers to the home plate umpire that they are intending to walk the batter.
This will get rid of four useless pitches that will take time for the pitcher to throw to home plate and to have the catcher throw it back. This may seem like a pointless rule, but if there is an average of 2-3 intentional walks a game that adds up to 8-12 pitches that are no longer needed. This could save a pitcher to be able to pitch another inning.
The next big rule change is the 2:05 Inning Break Change Clock. This rule is in place to decrease the time in between innings. The rule states that the break between innings will not be longer than 2 minutes and five seconds. The batter will have to enter the batter’s box by the 1 minute and 45 second mark. If they do not have one foot in the box by that time they will receive an automatic strike. Commercial breaks will be affected because of this rule which is interesting.
The MLB could be taking a big risk because of losing sponsorship money, but it is a commendable change to their game and it is a bold statement against advertisers. Time will only tell if this will be a momentous mistake.
Another of the major changes to the rules is the 2:30 Pitching Change Break Clock. This rule is along the same line as the between innings clock. Pitchers now will not be able to amiably walk from the bullpen to the pitcher’s mound. This forces them to at least briskly walk or more importantly jog to the mound.
This time clock also includes the time that each pitcher will get to warm-up before they must pitch their first pitch. If they have not done this by the 2 minute 30 mark than the umpire will can an automatic ball. We will no longer see the patent walks that Mariano Rivera used to take on his way to the pitcher’s mound that took much too long.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
The final rule change that will be implemented this season is the Three “Time Out” Limit. This is a major change because each team will only have three ‘time outs’ in the game, this also includes extra-inning games. This rule includes all pitcher and catcher conferences, manager or player coach conferences and coach conferences with a batter. The only exception to this is if a player is injured. Pitchers will no longer be micro-managed by their team. If there is a meeting then it is going to have to be a really important one.
These are all radical changes to the rules in the mind of the “old school” minded baseball people. The important thing to remember is that the gameplay will not be affected. There had been ideas of shortening the game to seven innings, shrinking or expanding the strike zone, and limiting the number of pitching changes.
Thankfully the MLB did not change those rules because it would have drastically changed the game which could have been detrimental to the people who are primarily involved with the game. These changes might be more appealing to the casual fan, but real baseball people should understand that changes to these three areas would have be unwise.
This will speed up the game and the MLB is hoping that it can keep viewers watching the game with the minimal ads between innings and the game won’t feel “too slow” when there is more action.
