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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Manfred: Pace Of Play Rules Coming Before Spring Training Games

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday said that there "will be rule changes to improve the pace of play before the start of Spring Training games, whether he receives the union’s approval or not," according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. However, Manfred "stopped short of offering specifics, such as the implementation of a pitch clock." He said, "We’ll know about those rule changes before we start playing spring training games." Manfred suggested there will be "limited mound visits, shorter breaks between innings, and requirements for players to be ready in the batter’s box." Manfred also said that he is "not concerned with the abundance of unsigned free agents, acknowledging that the marketplace is slower than usual." He does believe they "will be eventually signed." Manfred: "There’s a difference between not having a job and having an offer for a job, and not being prepared to accept that offer. There’s a lot of activity out there in the market." Manfred also "dispelled any notion that teams are acting collusively" with regard to free agency. Manfred: "The clubs have conducted themselves in a manner that’s completely consistent with the agreement that we made with the MLBPA" (USA TODAY, 2/16).

WORKING THE COUNT: On pace of play, Manfred acknowledged he has purposely "delayed taking any action." He said, “We have made it clear from the very, very beginning our preference was to have an agreement with the players, and in fact, we have significantly altered our substantive positions based on input we’ve had from players.” Speaking about research done by MLB that he explained was shared with the union, Manfred said, “The No. 1 issue that fans identify (as a problem) with respect to our great game is length of game and pace of the game" (N.Y. POST, 2/16). Pirates P Daniel Hudson said of player resistance to the new rules, "Both sides, their heart’s in the right spot. They both want to make the game better and faster and more appealing to everybody, but at the same time, it’s baseball, man. There’s a reason there’s no clock attached to it" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/16). In N.Y., Tyler Kepner notes Manfred also "disputed the notion that players were now getting a smaller portion of revenue in the sport," which generated around $10B last year (N.Y. TIMES, 2/16).

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