Although the fate of dozens of free agents remains unknown, Manfred said the league will announce rule changes to speed up the pace of play before the start of spring training games next week, which the Players Association of Major League Baseball whether you agree or not. Although he would prefer to reach a specific agreement on specific rule changes with the MLBPA, Manfred said he would install the changes unilaterally if necessary, which he can do through the collective bargaining agreement.
“We did our best to solicit player feedback,” Manfred said. “We have delayed any action. We made it clear from the start that our strong preference was to have an agreement with the players and, in fact, we have significantly changed our substantive positions based on the feedback we received from the players. This is the negotiation process.
Manfred didn’t give any details, but he said the changes would focus on limiting downtime, including visits to the mound, the time it takes for hitters to enter the box and breaks given to players.
“Hopefully the changes we’re making in terms of stoppage time will eventually allow us to be comfortable with the pace and length of the game,” Manfred said. “But if not, there could be discussions about other types of changes that could go beyond downtime.”
Manfred spoke minutes from where some free agents are participating in an MLBPA-hosted spring training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He acknowledged the pace of the market was unusual, but added he wasn’t concerned about the glut of unemployed players. . For him, many players remain without a team because their perceived values do not match their real values in today’s market.
“There’s a difference between not having a job and getting a job offer and not being ready to accept that offer,” Manfred said. “There is a lot of activity in the market. Based on press reports, offers have been made and I firmly believe that quality major league players are going to be signed.
When it comes to pace of play, Manfred explained that MLB has found that fans’ biggest complaints about the league’s product are the length of games (average game time was 3:05). in 2017) and downtime. Players said they recognized that both were problematic and needed fixes. How to fix it has created some resistance. For example, Manfred has been a proponent of a pitch clock and MLB proposed a 20-second pitch clock with empty bases to the MLBPA in January. A pitch clock was installed in the Arizona Fall League in 2014 and was added to Class AA and AAA in 2015.
The commissioner reportedly recently agreed to delay the introduction of a kickoff clock for at least another season, but could implement one unilaterally if a deal with the union is not reached.
Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer said he has been involved in pace-of-play discussions since last August. He said the players recognized there was a problem. They don’t want to play in four-hour games, just like fans don’t want to attend them. But the reigning two-time National League Cy Young Award winner is skeptical of the league’s approach.
“The pitch clock doesn’t seem to solve the problem, in my opinion,” Scherzer said Thursday morning. “When I talk to the minor leaguers, they talk about how you can just call the time at any time and it can reset the clock. Or you can just go down and it resets the clock. So if the pitch clock is really not going to accomplish MLB’s overall goal of speeding up the game.”
Scherzer said he thought the problem was how liberally umpires gave time. He pointed out that hitters have the ability to call a timeout in the batter’s box almost whenever they want.
“If you really want the pace to pick up, we need to get the pitchers working faster,” Scherzer said. “I know there’s play. I’m not saying pitchers can work at the expense of hitters, but pitchers need to be incentivized to work faster. The hitters have to be more ready.
Both parties agree there is a problem. Next week, players will experience the league’s first significant attempt to address this issue, whether they like it or not.
