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New Pace of Game Rules


TonySoprano

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A hitter must keep one foot inside the batter's box throughout his plate appearance. Exceptions include a foul ball or a foul tip, a pitch forcing the batter out of the batter's box, a request for time out being granted, a wild pitch or a passed ball and several others.

Intentional walks will no longer include the pitcher lobbing four balls outside the strike zone. Instead, the manager will signal to the home-plate umpire and the batter will take first base.

There will be a maximum break of two minutes and five seconds between innings, with hitters required to be in the batter's box by the one minute and 45 seconds mark. If a hitter doesn't comply, the umpire will call a strike. If the hitter is ready but the pitcher doesn't deliver a pitch by two minutes and five seconds, the umpire will call a ball.

There will be a maximum of two minutes and 30 seconds allowed for pitching changes, including those that occur during an inning break. The clock starts when the reliever enters the playing field. The penalty will be that the umpire calls a ball.

Each team will be permitted three "timeout" conferences covering any meeting involving pitchers and catchers, managers, coaches and batters. Timeouts during pitching changes and those that result from an injury or other emergency will not be counted toward the limit.

source - MLB.com
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Without seeing them in practice yet, I like the batter's box rule, the inning change rule, and the pitching change rule.

Don't like eliminating intentional walks, and don't like limiting meetings on the mound between players.

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with the play clock, sounds like a chess match.

Not will wild about this.

and I agree that limiting player meetings at the mound. Dang, while we need to stop dragging the game out, this is a game, and you should be able to discuss strategy.

Really am on both sides of the intentional walk. If you are going to walk the guy, what's the harm in, in signaling your intentions and putting the guy on first.

However, with that said, I can remember runners stealing bases, when the pitcher and catcher get too lackadaisical. Not to mention a couple of homeruns, that guys step over and smacked the ball.

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I like baseball. When I go to the game, I'm not in a rush for it to be over. However, I do like the pitching change and in between innings limit as that has more to do with the broadcast than the actual play.

True and I agree totally.

Some pitchers are harder to watch on TV, they drag the game out, shaking off signals, adjusting their jockstrap on every pitch, walking around the mound.

Doesn't help when the hitter wants to jump out of the box and call time, when the pitcher is finally ready to work.

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source - MLB.com

Billy Ripken says so what if they games take a long time. It's baseball. If you cant find something great to keep yourself entertained at a ball park during a pitching change you probably aren't cut out to be a baseball fan. Bill also says that stepping out and thinking through the nuances of an at bat is a particularly important part of a hitter's opportunity to beat a pitcher.

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Billy Ripken says so what if they games take a long time. It's baseball. If you cant find something great to keep yourself entertained at a ball park during a pitching change you probably aren't cut out to be a baseball fan. Bill also says that stepping out and thinking through the nuances of an at bat is a particularly important part of a hitter's opportunity to beat a pitcher.

He has a point, but 3 1/2 to 4 hours marathons and just 9 innings are usually hard to sit and watch on the telly. I've been known to fall asleep. :)

Even being at the ball park for 4 hour sessions is hard.

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He has a point, but 3 1/2 to 4 hours marathons and just 9 innings are usually hard to sit and watch on the telly. I've been known to fall asleep. :)

Even being at the ball park for 4 hour sessions is hard.

Listen up slumberpuss,

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OeWkv7fyVoU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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Billy Ripken says so what if they games take a long time. It's baseball. If you cant find something great to keep yourself entertained at a ball park during a pitching change you probably aren't cut out to be a baseball fan. Bill also says that stepping out and thinking through the nuances of an at bat is a particularly important part of a hitter's opportunity to beat a pitcher.

Despite what he says, the games are too long. It's more of a problem for televised games IMO. The use of replay has had an effect as well. Bottom line, MLB needed to do something. THe only rule change that I don't like is the intentional walk. I like to see the pitches thrown, and I don't think that it takes that much time at the MLB level.

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o

Perhaps the most famous intentional walk ever, from the 1972 World Series.

Johnny Bench was at the plate, with a count of 3-2. 1st base was open, and runners were on 2nd and 3rd. Athletics manager Dick Williams visited the pitcher's mound. He yelled at his pitcher (Rollie Fingers), and motioned furiously by pointing to 1st base, and then to the on-deck circle ...... a seemingly obvious reference to intentionally walk the batter.

Athletics catcher Gene Tenace went back behind home plate, and stood up and held his hand out to catch what everybody (including Bench) thought would be ball four ...... but at the last instant, Tenace crouched back down into his usual catcher's position, and Fingers threw a fastball on the outside corner for strike three, sending an embarrassed Bench back to the dugout.

[video=youtube;xw0w9rhNtCk]

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o

Perhaps the most famous intentional walk ever, from the 1972 World Series.

Johnny Bench was at the plate, with a count of 3-2. 1st base was open, and runners were on 2nd and 3rd. Athletics manager Dick Williams visited the pitcher's mound. He yelled at his pitcher (Rollie Fingers), and motioned furiously by pointing to 1st base, and then to the on-deck circle ...... a seemingly obvious reference to intentionally walk the batter.

Athletics catcher Gene Tenace went back behind home plate, and stood up and held his hand out to catch what everybody (including Bench) thought would be ball four ...... but at the last instant, Tenace crouched back down into his usual catcher's position, and Fingers threw a fastball on the outside corner for strike three, sending an embarrassed Bench back to the dugout.

[video=youtube;xw0w9rhNtCk]

If you freeze the pitch -- it was clearly outside and should have been called a ball.

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If you freeze the pitch -- it was clearly outside and should have been called a ball.

I think that it was a tad outside ...... I think that it looked worse than it was when it landed it Tenace's glove. But still, it was a bit outside, and probably should have been called a ball.

But considering the fact that Bench let his guard down (and/or possibly cheated, if he peaked to see whether or not Tenace was standing up with his arm out, which you're not supposed to do), the umpire probably couldn't resist.

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Billy Ripken says so what if they games take a long time. It's baseball. If you cant find something great to keep yourself entertained at a ball park during a pitching change you probably aren't cut out to be a baseball fan. Bill also says that stepping out and thinking through the nuances of an at bat is a particularly important part of a hitter's opportunity to beat a pitcher.

Says the guy with the .612 career OPS. Billy would have been a 8th-place hitter if he'd had 20 minutes between pitches to study video.

And as Nigel (and Bill James) has said, for much of MLB history games were quick, often under 2:00. Very similar to the length of a modern basketball, soccer, or hockey game. Umpires regularly admonished players to keep up the pace. Nobody wanted a game called due to darkness before nine innings. Teams would regularly play doubleheaders in the pre-light era. Heck the old NL O's played a tripleheader 40 years before lights.

Anyway, it's not so much the length as the pace. Anyone who thinks more inaction in the game is good is fooling themselves. I've never heard anyone say "gosh, if only that guy would step out of the box and adjust his batting gloves more."

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