Oakland Athletics: MLB’s New Rule Changes to Game Pace, Slides and the ‘Neighborhood Play‘
Shorter Mound Visits for Oakland Athletics’ Bob Melvin and Take Out Sliding Scrutiny
On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced new rule changes for 2016 designed to speed up the game and, like the 2014 rule to protect catchers, address takeout slides to break up double plays. Since protections are now in place, there will be more scrutiny on the “neighborhood pay” that middle infielders have been getting away with for years.
The slide rule is meant to protect infielders while still allowing for aggressive base running in breaking up double plays. The base runner is still allowed to make contact with the middle infielder turning the play, but he can do so legally if the following listed conditions are satisfied:
- The runner begins his slide before reaching the base.
- The runner is able and attempts to reach the base with his hand or portion of his leg.
- The runner is able and attempts to remain on the base after completion of the slide (plays at home excluded)
The runner is still allowed to slide for the purpose of initiating contact with a fielder as long as he is within reach of the base without changing his pathway.
The rule specifically states now that a slide shall not be a “bona fide slide” if a runner engages in a “roll block,” or intentionally initiates or attempts to initiate contact with the fielder by elevating his leg above the fielder’s knee or throwing his arm or his upper body.
Both the aggressive slide and “neighborhood play” have also been made eligible for video replay review. It remains to be seen how often slides and neighborhood plays will end up under review, which could hamper the effect of pace-of-game move MLB had made.
The pace of game change, focusing on coaching visits to the pitcher’s mound, is part of efforts from last season to improve the tempo of the game, which started to average over 3 hours.
Visits to the mound by managers and coaches previously had no time limit. Mangers would often take advantage of the unlimited time by giving the bullpen pitcher extra time to warm up prior to making the call for his appearance. Those visits now will be limited to 30 seconds, and according to officials, will start when the manager/coach exits the dugout for the mound.
Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin – and visiting club skippers – may have to have more hustle now given the wide foul lines at the Oakland Coliseum. Fans will see the centerfield timer start at ‘30’ and begin counting down when the manager or coach has exited the dugout and time has been granted. Unless there is a signal for a pitching change, the manager/coach must leave the mound when the timer reaches ‘0.’
Another note on the pace of game, between-inning breaks are shaved by 20 seconds and will be only 2 minutes, 5 seconds for local broadcasts and 2 minutes, 25 seconds for nationally televised games. There had been a 20 second buffer for broadcasters when returning from the break, but now that is eliminated.
Last season changes focused around enforcement of the “Batter’s Box Rule”, and the addition of stadium timers that measured the break time between innings and during pitching changes. According to MLB officials, those efforts contributed to a reduction of six minutes and seven seconds per nine-inning game from 2014 to 2015, dropping the average length from 3 hours, 2 minutes to 2 hours, 56 minutes.
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