MLB: Will these new MLB rule changes speed the game up?
MLB announces that effective immediately, rule changes affecting change of pace will begin during the 2018 MLB season.
MLB revealed a handful of rule changes for the 2018 season, with goals of speeding the games up. Hopefully, these changes are our first step into a larger world of ways to make the fan experience at MLB ballparks even more enjoyable.
MLB announces a rule change for 2018 limiting the number of mound visits in a game and a rule designed to reduce the time required for inning breaks and pitching changes. There will be no pitch clock implemented for 2018.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 19, 2018
The list of MLB rule changes:
- Six mound visits per game
- Reducing time in between innings and during pitching changes.
- No pitch clock implementation for 2018
After reading the first two modifications, the powers to be, were on the right track. Then, I read “no pitch clock implemented for 2018.” A pitch clock is priority number one since the game of baseball itself revolves around pitching. It’s in every single play of the game. The fact that the rule makers of MLB didn’t address tweaking the pitch clock displays the fact they genuinely don’t care about the fan’s feedback.
Apparently, the longer a game goes on, the more money MLB owners and executives make during a season. It costs you an arm and a leg, as well as your first born child just to purchase a day old hot dog — to go along with $200 beer nights at the ballpark. No doubt MLB money makes love the six-hour marathon games between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
Ron Manfred, his circle of trust, and MLB owners are swimming around in cash like Harry and Llyod in Dumb and Dumber.
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Now, the beauty of baseball is to ability relax, enjoy the intricacies of the game, and even have full conversations with those sitting around you. But, when pitchers take an eternity in between the time they throw the ball to home plate, it’s easy to lose to lose interest.
Die-hard fans will sit through these long and drawn out games, but you’ll lose the marketability of the sport to the casual fan.
In America, the NFL is king, where people want action and they want it now. The same rings true of the popular NBA, with high flying dunks and larger than life personalities. For baseball to keep pace, things need to speed up to a reasonable level — within our control.
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Unfortunately, MLB executives care more about making money, which is a shame. A few more tweaks to the great game of baseball will put the game back on the mainstream level it deserves — and give us fans our money’s worth in the process. Hopefully, Rob Manfred is listening, but unfortunately, these requests will likely fall on deaf ears.