New Pace of Play Rules to be Introduced in Minor Leagues

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
12,476
11,841
Durham, NC
Not a fan of this at all but the writing was on the wall. Let's hope the idiotic "let anybody bat in the 9th" proposal doesn't gain any traction lest it get tested out next year.

MiLB announces pace-of-play regulations for 2018

The high points:

  • At all levels of MiLB, extra innings will start with a man on 2nd. That man will be the player in the batting order position previous to the leadoff batter of the inning (or a pinch-runner). So if you start the 10th with your #6 man, #5 is put on 2nd.
  • For purposes of computing ERAs, the runner on 2nd will be treated as a runner who reached on an fielding error.
  • Mound visits by coaches and position players will be limited based on level. Triple-A clubs will get 6 visits, Double-A will get 8, and Single-A (Low-A and High-A) will get 10. There'll be no limit on mound visits in Short Season A or Rookie ball.
  • Each team gets an extra mound visit per inning in extra innings
  • If a pitcher and a catcher get their signs crossed up, a visit from the catcher to the mount will count as a mount visit. If the team has used up their mound visits, the catcher may request a brief mound visit at the umpire's discretion.
  • Pitchers at Double-A and Triple-A will be on a 15-second pitch timer when no runner's on base and 20-seconds when there's a runner on base. They don't have to deliver the pitch in that time, but have to begin their windup/motion to come set by the time the timer's up. The timer will start when the pitcher has possession of the ball in the dirt circle surrounding the rubber, the catcher's in the catcher's box, and the batter's in the batter's box.
  • Failure for a pitcher to deliver a pitch in that time will result in a ball being awarded to the count and failure by the batter to be in the batter's box and alert to the pitcher with 7 or more seconds remaining on the timer, will result in a strike being awarded to the count.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CHRDANHUTCH

ucanthanzalthetruth

#CatsAreCooked
Jul 13, 2013
27,069
28,843
Surprised there's no thread on this. Runner starts on 2nd at all levels of the minors after the 10th. How have we gotten to a point where I want Bud Selig back? By testing this in the minors there's a real chance this could happen in MLB
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
12,476
11,841
Durham, NC
Who is honestly asking for extra innings rules to be changed? This is "fixing" a "problem" that doesn't exist.

Nobody. I personally enjoy 14 or 15 inning contests.

The only entity here I can really think would want this are managers so that they don't end up having to throw in their entire bullpens in extra innings games that go beyond 10 or 11 innings but those happen relatively rarely - maybe once or twice a season I feel like? I know there's a handful of games here in Durham where a position player gets put on the mound but again, those are fairly rare (3-4/season at most)
 

No Fun Shogun

34-38-61-10-13-15
May 1, 2011
56,097
12,757
Illinois
Nobody. I personally enjoy 14 or 15 inning contests.

Ditto. Baseball already has essentially the perfect overtime format, at least from the perspective of being most like the actual sport and not being gimmicky. This is just a stupid gimmick.

If they wanted to shorten games, I get that, but trying to cut off the very end of a small percentage of games isn't the solution.
 

Cheese Wagstaff

Registered User
Dec 11, 2017
1,418
976
Hopeful this never happens in the majors. There's no good reason to have minor league games go 15 innings so whatever it takes to get them over more quickly. That said I would riot if this came to the majors. Would vastly prefer ties after 12 innings or something.
 

Cheese Wagstaff

Registered User
Dec 11, 2017
1,418
976
Also a huge part of my objection is that if I was scoring a game I would have no idea how to automatically put a runner on second or who to charge the earned run to.
 

BMOK33

Registered User
Oct 5, 2005
26,434
4,044
Also a huge part of my objection is that if I was scoring a game I would have no idea how to automatically put a runner on second or who to charge the earned run to.

I’m guessing they would have a new stat called tERA for team earn runs
 

Bjorn Le

Hobocop
May 17, 2010
19,592
609
Martinaise, Revachol
It was talked about elsewhere. Manfred is a very open and experimental commissioner. I doubt this will be adopted (though I'm sure he would like to), it's too fringe and far too controversial. It makes sense to speed up games in the minors, beyond just testing how this works.

That said, I don't necessarily mind it. More often than not, extras just serves to deplete bullpens (and potentially increase the potential for injury). Sometimes it's exciting, but not usually. Plus, you can remove the rule for the playoffs so a world series isn't decided by a lucky bloop single in the 10th.
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
12,476
11,841
Durham, NC
Surprised there's no thread on this. Runner starts on 2nd at all levels of the minors after the 10th. How have we gotten to a point where I want Bud Selig back? By testing this in the minors there's a real chance this could happen in MLB

It was brought up in the MiLB Off-Season News & Notes thread as well as its MLB counterpart. That said, given what a major change this represents I'm alright with it being its own thread and will merge the posts from that discussion into here.
 

SoupNazi

Serenity now. Insanity later.
Feb 6, 2010
26,341
14,039
The only entity here I can really think would want this are managers so that they don't end up having to throw in their entire bullpens in extra innings games that go beyond 10 or 11 innings but those happen relatively rarely - maybe once or twice a season I feel like? I know there's a handful of games here in Durham where a position player gets put on the mound but again, those are fairly rare (3-4/season at most)

Likewise, here in single A Greenville those games happen so infrequently that it isn't worth a rule change.
 

garnetpalmetto

Jerkministrator
Jul 12, 2004
12,476
11,841
Durham, NC
Likewise, here in single A Greenville those games happen so infrequently that it isn't worth a rule change.

Indeed - as a funny anecdote, one of those happened a few years ago and Ray Olmedo (remember him, anyone?) was moved from the infield to pitch. He allowed a man on base and he hurriedly motioned for the pitching coach, Xavier Hernandez, to come up for a mound visit. Why? Olmedo had no idea how to pitch from the set and needed Hernandez to show him how.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SoupNazi

Tecumseh

Scorched Earth
Oct 20, 2012
9,300
707
Southbridge, MA
If you’re the kind of person that thinks baseball takes too long or is boring, pitch clocks and gimmicky changes to extra innings isn’t going to move the needle for you. This is just a really terrible idea.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->