It helped reduce nine-inning minor-league games by 26 minutes on average. The pitch timer was implemented in the minors to experiment with pace of play. Compare that with the early 2000s, when the average game length was 2 1/2 hours. It decreased last year, but it hasn’t dipped below three hours since 2015. "I think the hitters are just as, maybe more, put to the test."Īccording to Baseball-Reference, the average major-league game time peaked in 2021 at three hours and 11 minutes. "I think we're focused a little too much on pitchers with this subject," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. The most noticeable difference next year will be the pitch timer, and managers are preparing all of their players for the change. The players will adjust."īeyond the defensive shift rules, these are the other three main changes coming to baseball next season. "You can't just keep playing the same game that they played in the 1940s and 1950s," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. It helps that they’ve seen the changes - and the results - at the minor-league level. While baseball purists might quibble about the changes, most major-league managers sound open-minded. "We'll have a whole month of games and daily discussions about this," Black said, "and try to simulate some things even prior to games both on the pitching side and the position-player side as far as the pitch clock." Teams will get the chance to see the new rules in action during spring training, a time Rockies manager Bud Black said will be crucial. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he’ll have to manage in ways he hadn’t thought about before, but he also echoed Bell in believing the changes will better the game. It's talking to people in player development that have experienced them, creating practice strategies around that." "Our team will evolve over time, but like right now, it's, ‘How can we prepare our team the best way we can?’" Bell said. He views those changes positively and has enjoyed trying to figure out how to turn the new rules into an advantage, even if the ramifications might take time to fully grasp. Reds manager David Bell was also among the skippers who expect the rule changes to have noticeable consequences. "I think for us to win inches and do what I expect us to do defensively, we need to have every infielder, including Ketel, be as dynamic as possible with their left and right movements to cover that ground." "‘You need to get strong from the waist down,’ was my defensive message," Lovullo said. He wanted Marte focusing on his agility and lateral movements to prepare for spring training. Lovullo relayed that message to Ketel Marte when he visited his second baseman in the Dominican Republic in November while on a trip to see the Diamondbacks’ baseball academy. "I already have asked our guys to go in and prepare themselves from the waist down if you’re an infielder because you’re going to have to go out and get the job done on a much bigger scale," Lovullo said. Specifically in regard to shift restrictions, Lovullo is among the managers anticipating a rise in offensive production and an emphasis on athleticism in the field. Most managers and executives at the winter meetings spoke positively about the changes, though they varied in how much of an impact they expect the new rules to make. Beginning with the 2023 season, MLB requires two infielders to be positioned on each side of second base and all infielders to have both feet in the infield when the pitcher is on the rubber.
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