As Major League Baseball fell behind in popularity when compared to other professional sports leagues, they enacted measures with the hope of making the sport more attractive. The most common complaint amongst casual fans is the duration of a nine-inning game.
In effort to combat that, MLB implemented a clock to limit the time between innings and visits to the mound. Further more, batters were instructed to keep one foot in the box at all times. Failure to comply with any of the new rules was said to result in a possible fine.
While players have largely carried forward without issue in regard to the clock, the batter’s box rule has been loosely enforced.
Although means were put into place to decrease the time of a game, MLB expanding its use of instant replay in a sense runs counterintuitive to the goal. However, replay does better ensure proper calls are being made.
Less than two months into the regular season, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed his displeasure with the length of games at this stage compared to 2015, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN:
The average time of a nine-inning baseball game is up nearly seven minutes compared with this point last season, and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred isn’t happy about it.
“We think the single biggest thing we had going for us early in the year [last season] was player focus on the topic,” Manfred told ESPN. “And we feel like we’ve lost a little focus. So we’re doing a variety of things to try to get that focus back.”
On Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers played a nine-inning game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that lasted four hours. The contest featured nine relievers, five used by the Angels and four by the Dodgers.
One being Pedro Baez, who worked at a languid pace that evening, and in another relief appearance during the week. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said time between between pitches is an issue the club discussed with the hard-throwing right-hander.
As for pace of play, MLB reportedly is considering changes moving forward, including no longer requiring all four pitches to be thrown for an intentional walk.
