Many changes to rules are being discussed by MLB owners and players as we get ready to begin the 2019 season.
Owners had meetings in Orlando, Florida this week and among the topics discussed was a proposal by the MLB Players Association to have the designated hitter adopted by the National League for this season.
That won’t be happening:
MLB's Manfred: The designated hitter will not be added to the National League this season.
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) February 8, 2019
Still on deck for discussion:
-Each pitcher must face 3 batters unless an inning ends.
-Pitch clocks, more restrictions on mound visits.
Story: https://t.co/AK4qAhKTdb pic.twitter.com/FkW3PT9dER
The linked article says that the DH “and changes to the amateur draft” are bigger things that would likely be handled in negotiations for the next collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires after the 2021 season. So, fans of watching N.L. pitchers strike out, you’ll be able to watch that for three more years.
More intriguing to me is that MLB is apparently open to changes in the way relief pitchers are used. I’ve long been in favor of a system where a reliever has to face a certain number of batters before an inning ends. Two was the number I’d thought of. Three would be fine.
And I have also assumed that we would be getting a pitch clock this year. I think that would make a significant difference in the lengths of games. When they were instituted in Double-A and Triple-A in 2015, game times dropped significantly.
As always, we await further developments.
Poll
Pitch clocks...
This poll is closed
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43%
Yes! Game pace needs to speed up!
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35%
No! Don’t mess with the game the way it is!
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21%
Don’t care either way