Over the past few seasons Major League Baseball has worked to refine certain aspects of the game to increase its overall appeal.
Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig initiated the process of implementing new rules to decrease the length of games, and current commissioner Rob Manfred has pressed forward with the initiatives.
After tests in the Arizona Fall League, a clock between innings was used during Spring Training and the regular season last year.
However, it appeared to have a minimal impact with it not necessarily being strictly enforced league-wide.
A handful of minutes were nonetheless shaved off the average time of game, and new changes could further that effect.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, one new rule proposed will speed up the process of in-game pitching changes:
In an attempt to remove the slow walk to the mound or the stalling tactics once there, managers will be requested to make in-game pitching changes more quickly, with the possibility of having a time limit for making the decision to call for a reliever.
Secondly, time would come off the clock used between innings:
Twenty seconds would be sliced off the between-inning clock, first used last year, in non-nationally televised games. The commercial breaks in such games are 2:05. Last year, the clock was set at 2:25 at the end of a half-inning, with the idea the hitter would get in the box with 20 seconds remaining on the clock and the pitcher would deliver by zero.
While some players haven’t expressed any issues over the length of games, the changes haven’t been met with an overwhelming groundswell of opposition. That of course is key for MLB as they continue to work on appealing to the younger generation and make their content more television-friendly.
