Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred continues to float ideas around when it comes to rule changes in America’s pastime.
According to the Associated Press, limiting pitching changes, restricting defensive shifts, altering the strike zone, and installing pitch clocks are just some of the ideas Major League Baseball has in mind moving forward.
The AP reports that owners were given a presentation Thursday during the league’s quarterly meeting of how the game has changed.
Here’s more from Manfred, via the AP:
“Sometimes baseball fans think about what should happen with the game sort of with an artificial construct, that the choice is between preserving ‘The Game,’ as it came down originally from the mountain, and making some changes to that game,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said.
“The point of the conversation today was that the game has changed dramatically. It’s changed organically. It kind of has flowed where the competitive juices of managerial and general managerial decisions have taken it. And the question is, you take a snapshot after 40 years of that and you say, wow, here’s what it looks like, here’s what it used to look like and should we be thinking about what has occurred and whether we want to allow it to continue to go on on the path it’s on?”
Changes to baseball have almost always come with strong detractors. The game has been played for a long time, and has rarely seen any amendments. The last real change to the game was when the American League adopted the designated hitter in 1973.
Baltimore Orioles veteran catcher Matt Wieters told the AP he wasn’t too happy about things:
“I don’t like things that would actually change the way the game is played. If you make the game shorter without changing its integrity, I’m all for it. But the things that are being talked about can mess with the integrity,” he said.
The talks are certainly going to raise more opinions like those expressed by Wieters. Baseball is the one game that seemingly can’t be touched. The tradition is unmatched, with their record book as one of the most sacred things in existence.
But with so much money out there — and other leagues making changes and increasing in popularity — it appears baseball might be reaching a breaking point, and Rob Manfred is willing to be the one to (or, at least attempt to) institute changes to keep up.
For some, that will make him a very popular man, but it appears it will make him an enemy of many.
[AP]
