Even though temperatures aren’t exactly heating up yet across the country, temperatures are just right for MLB spring training. Unfortunately, blood pressure is also on the rise for fan’s and player’s due to the new pace of game initiatives.
Several rule changes were implemented this past Friday by new MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, specifically aimed at speeding up the pace of MLB games.
Player reactions so far are not encouraging. “I’m not a big fan of it,” said White Sox OF Adam Eaton. “Good luck enforcing that,” said Cubs P Jason Hammel. “This is the greatest game ever made. You don’t need to mess with it.” stated Indians OF Nick Swisher.
In defense of his pace of game changes, Commisioner Manfred issued this statement, “these changes represent a step forward in our efforts to streamline the pace of play.”
The constant attempts to fix the game of MLB and the way it is played have been becoming more frequent over the last few years.
The changes themselves are not significant. However, the changes have players and fans annoyed and left wondering why anything in the game needs to be sped up in the first place.
There is also the issue of enforcing the new changes. Penalties for violating the new pace of game rules range from warnings to fines up to $500 for flagrant violators. The argument can certainly be made that enforcing these rules could actually increase the amount of time it takes to play games, especially if there are flagrant violators.
In conclusion, many fans have complained that MLB games can run too long. These new rules could in fact be the change for which causal MLB fans have been waiting. Ultimately, bringing in more fans would certainly be positive for MLB, but if they can’t find a way to make the changes work for the players, trouble could be on the horizon.
matthewsprayberry
I am a huge fan of my wife, my wonderful daughter, baseball, old school wrasslin', movies, and friends. Dislikes? The killing off of Quicksilver (Oops…too soon?), People who don't tip, Reality TV, and Daredevils new costume (I'm sorry it just looks stupid).
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