“I expect that is going to be an important topic in our discussions in a new basic agreement.” “I think there is a very strong consensus among ownership that alterations in the way the game is played need to be made for the benefit of our fans,” Manfred told SI. The proposals will be presented this year to the union as part of negotiations toward a collective bargaining agreement. Sources familiar with those sessions said many owners changed their position from debating the merits of ideas, such as outlawing defensive shifts, to “let’s try them.” Manfred hired former Cubs president Theo Epstein and former player Raúl Ibañez to help study and quantify ways to improve pace of action. He held three weeks of Zoom meetings with owners in November and December to rally them around a commitment to improve the entertainment value of the game. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has decided it is time for surgery. automatic intentional walk, a cap on mound visits, three-batter minimum). To treat the ravaging illness of slow play, MLB and the players association have given little more than lip service and Band-Aids (i.e. In 2011 fans waited on average three minutes, 18 seconds to see a ball put in play. It adds up to 259 pitches per game without the ball in play, up from 239 just 10 years ago and 213 from 1988, when pitch data began. And because the goal of pitching has become avoidance of contact, not just getting outs–a passive-aggressive game with more breaking pitches–there are 14 more pitches in a nine-inning game than there were a decade ago. When they do commence with actually playing the game, players put the ball in play on only 15.8% of the pitches, down from 18.3% only 10 years ago. Just since 2011, players take 2.6 seconds more between pitches, which has added 13 minutes, 17 seconds of pure dead time to a game.
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