April 4, 2015
New MLB Rules that
Could Change the Game
This upcoming season, the MLB is set to go under major
changes in an attempt to rejuvenate the game. New rules and
policies will be set in place in order to speed up the game in
hopes of filling up some of the
gaps in the crowds. Is this good
news for the players or the fans?
Or both? Written By: Student 10
New rules you say? Yes, the MLB has taken the
initiative to implement new rules in favor of the
fans this season. What rules? One of the main
rules the league is focusing on the most involves
ensuring the batter having at least one foot inside
the batter’s box at all times. This, in theory,
would allow the game to flow much faster and
smoother with less breaks in-between pitches,
thus shortening the game.
According to Maury Brown from Television
Weekly, “If the MLB can somehow manage to
cut down their games from three hours to two
hours, there is much hope for the revival of
baseball fans.” Baseball has the fewest
attendance per game, compared to another league
and that needs to change if the MLB wants to
keep its league relevant (Brown, 2015).
Not everybody has the time to sit around
Clayton Kershaw,
Dodger Stadium 4/04/15
for three hours watching a game. According
to a recent survey, 40% of people who normally
watch baseball on television claim that they
would be more inclined to attend a baseball game
if the games were shortened by one hour.
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April 4, 2015
Needless to say, Ortiz has a point.
However, batters are no the only ones being
penalized by the new rules. Pitchers are also
being put on the clock. One of the new rules
ensures that pitchers are timed in their pre-inning
warm-ups as they are only allowed two minutes
before ‘batter up’.
This is good news for the league. But are the
new rule changes good news for the players too?
Timers will be located in the outfield and
behind the home base in order to ensure that
pitchers are aware of how much time they have
left to warm-up.
DELAY OF GAME
.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
Unhappy. That is the feeling of many players in
the league concerning the rule changes. Boston
Red Sox, David Ortiz, renowned hitter and star
player of the team, voiced his opinions in a recent
interview with CBS Sports.
“I don't think its fair. That’s the bottom
line” says Ortiz feeling singled out. Ortiz then
called out the league by saying, “Every time they
want to speed up the game, they come to the
“I don’t think its fair.
That’s the bottom
line."-David Ortiz
hitters. What about the pitchers?”
One of the most time consuming events in
baseball are when a questionable play occurs and
the true result can be only determined by
reviewing the play. The way this happens is after
it occurs, the managers calls up the upstairs booth
and asks them to look at the all the camera angles
to determine whether to invoke an instant replay
review to the umpire and challenge the play.
Meanwhile, the manager steps onto the
field and as slowly as humanely possible walks
towards the umpire to challenge the play. The
reason why the manager’s slow walk to the
umpire is so well known and recognized is
because throughout the time it takes him to
approach the umpire, the upstairs reviewer is
looking at the replays to determine wither or not
they should actually challenge the play. The
result is an enormous amount of time wasted.
The league’s response to this is that they
limited the manager so that they do not need to
leave the dugout to invoke an instant replay to
challenge the umpire’s call. This,
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April 4, 2015
consequentially, will greatly decrease the amount
of time it takes to review a play, thus again
drastically reducing the playtime.
However, what was truly being observed
was the average times taken in-between pitches.
Did pitchers who took longer breaks in-between
pitches have a better game than those who take
less time for breaks?
To answer this, time was recorded for
each team’s pitcher for an average of about 3
innings. The innings recorded were mid-way
through the game in order to give each team a
chance to “warm-up”.
The chart below displays the data recorded:
From the chart, it is clear that FIU had
taken the longest average time per pitch.
Averaging an astounding 22.6 seconds per pitch
Don Mattingly, Coach
Dodger Stadium,
10/6/14
BY THE NUMBERS
A recent observational study was conducted at a
local college baseball game, Manhattan College
versus Florida International University. Although
no homers were hit, the fans were very much
alive cheering for every batter.
Estimated about 40/60 split with FIU
fans, somewhat dominating the crowds with
approximately 500 people in attendance.
while Manhattan averaged 17.7 seconds. This
resulted in FIU winning the game 7-2 by the end
of the 9th inning.
It's no wonder pitchers love to take their
time on the mound!
The result is a win. This is no different in
the major leagues.
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April 4, 2015
“Isn’t it a coincidence
that the fastest
pitcher in the MLB is
also the slowest?”
- Matt Synder, CBS
According to CBS Sports reporter, Matt
Sports
Synder, the best pitchers in the league are the
same ones who take the longest time in between
pitches. Coincidence? Synder thinks not.
Referring to former Cy young winner
(MVP like award) David Price, Synder says,
“Isn’t it a coincidence that the fastest pitcher in
the league is also the slowest?” David Price last
season averaged a total of 26.6 seconds per pitch,
which is almost 6 full seconds slower than any
other pitcher in the league (Synder, 2015). It’s no
wonder he has the best numbers.
WAITING FOR THE UNKNOWN
Pitchers, batters, and fans around the nation are
dreading the day of when the first pitch is thrown
to open up the new 2015 season. Will the fans
enjoy the game more? Will the players’
performance be affected? Will fans come out to
attend more games?
Fans hope the game will be more
enjoyable to watch. Players hope the new rules
wont affect their game. And the league hopes that
the new rules will draw out fans from their
homes to the games.
All these questions and hopefully some
prayers will be answered in the near future.
The MLB 2015 season will begin on
April 5, 2015, with the St. Louis Cardinals
against the Chicago Cubs.
Now, with the league’s new rules, will
players like David Price be affect negatively? Or
will great players like Price, prevail and continue
to put up some of the best numbers?
According to the survey previously
mentioned, 85% of the baseball fans believe this
is no coincidence and that a player like Price will
definitely take a hit on their numbers with the
new rules.
David Price, Pitcher
Detroit Tigers,
8/5/14
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April 4, 2015
Reference Page:
Anne Wan-Ling Hu (2010), Factors motivating sports broadcast viewership with fan
identification as a mediator. Social Behavior & Personality: an international Journal, Vol.38. 681-670.
Retrieved from Academic Search complete. Accession number: 50974499.
Matt Breen (2015), Sandberg on board with pace-of-play rule changes. Tribune Business News.
Retrieved from Pro Quest. doi: 1656474546
Matt Snyder (2015), David Ortiz’s complaints about pace of play rules a total overreaction. CBS
Sports News. Retrieved from: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25081476/david-ortizscomplaints-about-pace-of-play-rules-a-total-overreaction.
Maury Brown (2015), With MLB Creating pace of game committee, Here’s how long games are
taking. Television Week, Vol 26 8-21, Retrieved from Academic Search Complete. Accession Number:
15277145
Photographs:
Ian Quillen. “ Clayton Kershaw”. Photograph. The Washington Times, May 6, 2014. Web.
Retrieved 3 Apr 2015.
Jamie Squire. “Makes you wonder… if Don Mattingly is ever going to get a World Series”.
Photograph. New York Daily News. Oct 8, 2014. Web. Retrieved 3 Apr 2015.
Kim Klement. “David Price” Photograph. CBS Sports Today. Aug 21, 2014. Web. Retrieved Apr
10, 2015.
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