MLB Rule Changes: The times they are a-changin’
By Bill Felber
MLB Rule Changes: The times they are a-changin’
Bullpens
The least surprising and most discussed change in the rules is the so-called “three-batter rule.” Until this season, a pitcher was only required to face one batter. For years, virtually every team has rostered a “loogy,” (left-handed one-out guy) whose sole task was to retire one left-handed hitter.
In 2019, to cite one example, Cleveland left-hander Oliver Perez in 67 games but faced only 2.6 batters per inning, of whom only 45 percent were right-handed. Those right-handers lit Perez up for a .543 slugging average accounting for his 4.40 ERA against them. Yet facing left-handers – which he did 55 percent of the time – Perez accumulated a 3.71 ERA and those lefties managed just a .333 slugging average against him.
This change may or may not mean the end of the “loogy” – at least if one broadens the definition to refer to a short-use specialist. Indeed, since the rule specifically allows pitchers to face fewer than three batters if an inning ends, there may yet be a place for a one-out specialist…assuming he’s a good one.
Otherwise, though, opposing managers will be able to thwart the exclusivity of left-handed specialists (or right-handed specialists, for that matter) simply by adjusting their batting orders to mix left-handed and right-handed hitters.
The Oliver Perezes of this world may find their managers intolerant of risking exposing them to .543 slugging averages, instead of requiring their bullpen guys to be able to retire both left-handers and right-handers.