Entering the 2015 season, Major League Baseball implemented pace-of-play changes with the hope of shortening games for a more entertaining overall product.
One month into the season, 10 of our writers give their thoughts on how else to improve pace of play.
Jim Bowden: We need to speed up the instant-replay process. There should be at least one umpire assigned to every single game in the control room in New York instead of having to cover multiple games. They should be watching the game and umpiring along with the umpires on the field. They should also be reviewing every single close call. By the time the umpiring crew on the field calls them about a challenge, they should already have an answer based on all the different angles. This will essentially speed up the pace of game and instant-replay process.
Jerry Crasnick: The one-foot-in-the-box rule and other new initiatives seem to be having the desired effect in shaving several minutes from the average game time and preventing players from dawdling, so I'm not sure any additional changes are necessary. How quickly do games have to be before MLB is satisfied and this is no longer an issue? But as I've mentioned previously (ad nauseam), I'm a big proponent of bringing back the bullpen cart. If a few relievers can hop a ride and reduce their average daily commute by 50 percent, maybe it will shave another minute from the running time of a typical MLB tilt. It's more about entertainment value than minutes and seconds, anyway, and bullpen carts provide baseball with a nostalgia factor and abundant marketing opportunities. If it worked for the Sugar Land Skeeters, why can't it work for the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros?
Gordon Edes: I covered a Red Sox-Orioles game last Saturday that lasted 3 hours, 29 minutes and seemed to fly by, which tells me that some of the changes implemented are working. The game was so entertaining that length was not an issue, and the pace of play was such that there was no obvious dawdling by batters or pitchers. While I'm somewhat conservative on forcing too much change -- I understand a hitter's need to gather himself before a pitch -- I do think some sort of pitch clock may be the real key to improving pace of game. I've seen too many games come to a virtual standstill when certain pitchers (I'm thinking of you, Clay Buchholz) get runners on base and take forever before coming to the plate. To me, that's what has to change if you really want to impact pace of game.
Andrew Marchand: I'm a fan of making sure the pitchers work quickly, so I think a pitch clock might be effective. The game drags when there's a slow-working pitcher on the mound. This could eliminate that issue and time off the game. Plus, if you talk to most pitching coaches and fielders, they all prefer a pitcher who delivers quickly. Besides annoying traditionalists, one problem with a pitch clock could be when runners are on base, base stealers could use the clock to get good jumps. However, pitchers may be able to manipulate the clock to their advantage by changing up their patterns. Another alternative could be to just have the clock when no runners are on base. The pitch clock would make the game move a little quicker, trimming maybe another 10 minutes off an average game.
Wallace Matthews: Short of putting a shot clock on the pitchers to force them to deliver a pitch every 20 seconds -- no doubt compromising the quality of play -- I can't see much that baseball can do aside from limiting the number of mound visits to one per inning, and only to take a pitcher out of the game. Better yet, eliminate the slow managerial walk to the mound altogether; have the manager just wave the old pitcher out and wave the new one in from the bench.
Doug Padilla: While the current changes have assisted with pace of play, there seems to be room for a few more moderate changes. Make a catcher's visit to the mound count the same as a visit from a coach or manager. And have the control room in New York automatically review close calls in the late innings (eighth and ninth) instead of having the manager stand on the top step of the dugout waiting for the word to challenge.
Jesse Rogers: After watching too many pitcher/catcher visits during the first month of the season, it might speed things up to limit them. Keep mound meetings to one per inning -- per pitcher -- or even just one per inning. I've already seen multiple mound visits within the same batter. A more drastic move would be limiting visits by pitching coaches, as well. Every time a pinch hitter appears at the plate, it seems like the pitching coach is out to give his pitcher a scouting report. Maybe it would even generate more offense if the pitching coach was limited to one visit per game and catchers were limited to only several mound visits. That would encourage more preparation before the game while keeping things moving during it. If more runs are scored because of it, all the better. That, of course, could prolong a game, but at least there would be action on the field instead of watching two or more players talking on the mound.
Adam Rubin: The price of ensuring that calls are correct should not be interminable delays. Albeit involving complicated calls, the New York Mets endured separate review delays of 5 minutes, 44 seconds and 4:43 in April. There should be a cap on the amount of time a play may be reviewed. If there is no discernible evidence to overturn a call within that prescribed period, the call on the field should stand and the game should proceed. While 100 percent accuracy is admirable, the game must go on.
Mark Saxon: I would like to see umpires enforce rule 8.04, the 12-second clock between pitches with the bases unoccupied. It should be on the in-stadium clock. If a pitcher doesn't throw a pitch within 12 seconds of the last pitch thrown, a ball is called. The rule is already on the books, so it's just a matter of enforcing it.
Jayson Stark: I only see two ways baseball can cut a significant amount of additional dead time. And one of them -- fewer TV commercials -- will never happen! So I think it's time to cut down on mid-inning pitching changes. You know how many times a relief pitcher came in just to face one batter last season? Nearly 1,300. Just those moves alone lengthened games by 65 hours over the course of the season. It's time to think about a rule that says each reliever has to face at least two hitters if he enters in the middle of an inning. Anything this sport can do to eliminate those deadly half-innings where it takes four relievers to get three outs is a step toward better pace, a better sport and, most importantly, better entertainment.