MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a desire to see a pitch clock reach the majors as early as next year, part of an ongoing, multiyear review of the league’s on-field product. As part of quarterly owners’ meetings that concluded Thursday in Houston, MLB heard a presentation on historical on-field trends from COO Tony Petitti, Senior VP/League Economics & Strategy Chris Marinak and Elias Sports Bureau Exec VP Steve Hirdt. As part of several potential reforms under consideration, Manfred said he would like to see a pitch clock at the big-league level, following the 20-second pitch clock already in use in MiLB. Other alterations being discussed at various levels within baseball include limiting pitching changes and defensive shifts. “When you have sort of a new administration, it’s a good time to take a really hard look at the product. There are pieces to this project that are not yet complete, including figuring out what fans are seeing, what they like, what they don’t like in a more comprehensive way.” Manfred declined to say whether a pitch clock is part of ongoing labor negotiations with the MLBPA. Manfred said he will continue to consider changes to the sport, some of them potentially radical, in a spirit of open dialogue and debate. “Sometimes baseball fans think about what should happen with the game sort of with an artificial construct," he said. "The game has changed dramatically, but it’s changed organically. The question is whether we want to be managing that change a little more aggressively” (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
ON THE CLOCK: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale notes these changes could be the "most radical" the league has seen in more than a century. Manfred said of pitch clocks, "We feel it’s been effective in the minor leagues. You look month-by-month in terms of where we were in terms of game time, we did really well early and kind of regressed the second half of last year, and certainly this year." But Nightengale notes the "hottest topic" at the meetings was "whether radical moves are necessary." Manfred: "You could make an argument that more relievers have lengthened the game. More pitching changes has slowed down the pace of the game and the unbelievable effectiveness of some of those relief pitchers has robbed some of the action from the game" (USA TODAY, 8/19). YAHOO SPORTS' Chris Cwik wrote a pitch clock in MLB "doesn't seem like a major change." Twenty seconds "seems like a decent amount of time to someone watching the game, though it would be interesting to hear from actual players." For now, though, it "seems pitch clocks are the most important issue for Manfred" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/18).
CBA PROGRESSING: Manfred continues to be optimistic a new labor agreement will be made prior to the expiration of the current CBA in December. “We’ve got a nice, complete inventory of issues on the table from both sides," he said. "We’ve had a good, respectful exchange at the table and we’re moving into that phase where I think we’re going to package some things up and hopefully start to make agreements on issues.”
NOT DWELLING ON THE PAST: Manfred said he did not dwell on his prior friction with Alex Rodriguez during the player’s final week with the club, instead choosing to focus on his re-entry to active playing following a season-long suspension for PED use. “When I think about Alex, I have to tell you, I really don’t think about three years ago,” Manfred said. “I think about how positive he was about re-entering the game. The extensive effort that he went through to make that re-entry positive. The fact that he performed amazingly well last year.” While the departure of Rodriguez, followed by the pending retirement of Red Sox DH David Ortiz, has depleted the league of some of its highest-profile players, Manfred said he is looking favorably on younger stars emerging. “Stars are important to our game. I think we have a group of young players that have the potential to be as big as the last generation" (Fisher).
