The sport’s 11-man race committee is set to adopt the rule changes Friday, mandating a clock that will count down 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds with runners on base. The MLB clock will be slightly longer than the version experimented with in the minor leagues this season: 14 seconds with the bases empty and 19 seconds with runners on in Triple-A and 14/18 at lower levels. “It’s something that takes a little time to get used to, but I think overall the impact he’s had on the tempo of the game has been good,” said the Yankees’ Matt Carpenter, who spent April in Triple-A with Round Rock. The shift limit shall require four players other than the pitcher and catcher to be in front of the field when a pitch is thrown, including two of the four on either side of second base; Additionally, there will be a limit during each plate appearance of two pickoff attempts or steps off the rubber, what MLB calls strikeouts. If a third attempt is made and is unsuccessful, balk will be called. The limit will be reset to two upon a plate appearance if a runner advances. The size of the bases will increase to 18-inch squares from 15, promoting safety — first basemen are less likely to be walked — but also boosting stolen bases and slightly reduced pitch offense. The plans, first reported by The Athletic, were detailed by a pair of baseball officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the changes were not scheduled to be announced until Friday. The changes will begin during spring training. A catcher should be in the catcher’s box with nine seconds left on the clock and a hitter in the batter’s box and focus on the pitcher with eight seconds left. Penalties for violations shall be a ball called against a pitcher and a strike on a batter. Halftime will be at 2:15 for most regular season games, 2:40 for nationally televised games and 3:10 for postseason games. The clock will be 30 seconds between shots. A batter may request time from an umpire once per plate appearance, after which it will only be granted at the discretion of the umpire if the request is made while in the box. The clock has dropped the average time of a nine-game inning in the minor leagues from 3:04 in 2021 to 2:38 this season. The average time of a nine-game game in the major leagues this year is 3:06 — it was 2:46 in 1989, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “It’s slow. It’s boring,” Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said of a telecast in 2017. “Man, it’s so hard to watch if you’re not into it.” Shifts have been limited all season in Double-A and Class A, where teams must have four players in the infield, including two on each side of second base. The use of shifts has soared over the past decade, from 2,357 times on balls hit in play in 2011 to 28,130 in 2016 and 59,063 last year, according to Sports Info Solutions. Shifts were on pace for 71,000 this year, according to midseason data. His .243 major league average this year is on track to be the lowest since 1967, two years before the pitcher’s mound was reduced from 15 inches to 10. Players had long resisted a championship-level clock. Management won the right in the March lockout settlement to establish the 11-person committee, which includes six management representatives, four players and an arbitrator.
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