Pitchers in Major League Baseball can take their own sweet time before throwing the ball… for now.
With the intent of apparently trying to speed up games, the MLB was mulling the idea of implementing a pitch clock during games. A trial run was made in the Arizona Fall League where pitchers were allotted a maximum of 20 seconds upon receipt of the ball until he actually delivered a pitch.
While Boston Red Sox prospect and current Surprise Saguaros pitcher Keith Couch admitted that 20 seconds would be more than enough for a pitcher to handle, it seems that lack of support for it may shelve it for now.
If the pitch clock garnered enough support from the league and the MLB Player's association, the new rule would have been implemented for the 2015 season. Apparently they failed to get that needed support and hence, the games will continue as they used to be, dashing hopes of speeding up games.
The pitch clock is one of many potential rule changes being lined up under new commissioner Rob Manfred's watch. The apparent intent is to try and make games shorter (and faster)but it looks like rule changes such as the pitch clock may have to undergo further study and evaluation before they could be seriously considered for use.
There are many other rule change proposals on the table, including one which would require hitters to keep at least one foot inside the batters box when he is in between pitches. Other proposals include that of making modifications to replays to help manager make decisions quicker.
The move to try and speed up baseball games was meant to increase the efficiency of fans. Baseball is a sport without time and counts down to a number of 27 rather than the usual double zero.
Well, it seems that modifications to the sport of baseball will not take place just yet, at least for the 2015 season.
