MLB owners are "negotiating pace-of-game changes with the players union, but the initial adjustments will be more dramatic at the minor-league level," according to sources cited by Rosenthal & Morosi of FOXSPORTS.com. Sources said that a 20-second pitch clock "will be implemented at Double-A and Triple-A, but not in the majors" in '15. A source said that MLBAM "will pay for the clocks." Owners "could vote to approve a particular course of action" at their meeting in Phoenix today. The exact proposals for MLB are unknown, but the league has "discussed forcing managers to make replay challenges more quickly." Other changes could include "requiring a hitter to keep one foot in the batter's box, a time limit on pitching changes and also a limit on breaks between innings" (FOXSPORTS.com, 1/14). ESPN.com's Jayson Stark wrote there are pace-of-play changes that incoming MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is "determined to make," and no one in the sport has "any doubt that some of them will be in place" by Opening Day. Talks about exactly what will change -- and when -- "have just begun, so no one can say yet precisely where this is leading," Stark: "We expect MLB to press hard for tighter enforcement of a rule ... that is already on the books: 'The batter shall keep at least one foot in the batter's box throughout the batter's time at bat.'" How much time this will save in the long run "is tough to say." But at worst, it will "create the appearance of continuous action." Sources said that MLB is "moving toward a system that will allow managers to signal umpires from the dugout, and will encourage them to decide whether to challenge calls in a more 'reasonable' amount of time." It also appears likely that managers "will be given a second challenge over the first six innings" (ESPN.com, 1/14).
THE FACE OF THE GAME: ESPN's "SportsCenter" took a brief look at the start of the '15 MLB season yesterday, and anchor David Lloyd noted the retirement of Yankees SS Derek Jeter "leaves a yawning chasm as far as the face of baseball." ESPN's Curt Schilling said MLB "needs at least a face, if not a couple." Schilling: "If you go by talent, [Angels CF] Mike Trout might be the best player anyone alive will ever see. Does that translate to stardom, does it translate to recognition? I don't know. What kind of market is Anaheim and what does that do nationally? What does that do globally?" (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 1/14).
