Baseball’s pace-of-game rules perplexing to some

The 2014 season will be remembered for the implementation of expanded replay, the challenge system and the catcher’s obstruction rule.

This season we’re getting the pace-of-game rules that include a countdown clock and fines for hitters who leave the batter’s box.

Baseball is a game that thrives on its traditions, but now seems to be changing for the sake of change.

“I’d like baseball to stay baseball,” Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel said. “I understand they want to bring the fans in and make sure they have a good time, but I’m pretty sure they were doing that before.”

Commissioner Rob Manfred said the pace-of-game initiative is being “responsive to our fans.” Some hitters, notably Red Sox DH David Ortiz, said the enforcement of the batters’ box rule gives pitchers a distinct advantage over hitters.

“We are always concerned that changes we make on the field do not affect the competition,” Manfred said. “The inning breaks don’t really affect the play of the game. It’s about getting in and getting out of inning breaks in the time allotted. The batter’s box rule is a change, but remember, most all these players played under the batter’s box rule in the minor leagues, and I’m sure they’re going to be able to adjust to the change.”

It’s very early in the season, but the rules appear to be working so far, with game times averaging 2 hours, 54 minutes during 79 nine-inning games the first week, some eight minutes under last year’s nine-inning average of 3:02.

Manfred’s mandate when replacing Bud Selig was to bring in a younger audience. He believes more offense and a quicker pace are the solutions, and also suggested the idea of banning defensive shifts, which caused such an outcry that he was forced to back off.

“Frankly, given the feedback I’ve gotten since I made that comment, I don’t think I’d even consider it anymore,” he said with a laugh.

Some players argue MLB is trying to reinvent a game that’s just fine the way it is.

“They’re just trying to do everything too quickly — boom, boom, boom — get it all changed right now,” Tigers pitcher Tom Gorzelanny said. “This game has done pretty well for the last 100 or so years. I don’t think we need to all of a sudden start making all these drastic changes.”

Even some pitchers think MLB is going too far in forcing hitters to stay in the box. Tigers pitcher David Price pointed out the pitcher-batter matchup is a chess game in which they’re trying to out-guess each other.

“You try your entire life, your entire career in sports, to slow the game down,” Price said. “That’s what the good hitters do. That’s what Miguel (Cabrera) and what Victor (Martinez) do — they take their time in those big spots when they’re down 0-2, and are able to slow the game down.

“Guys take pride in mastering that. To try and take that away from them, it stinks for them.”

There’s also been some talk MLB will try to add the DH to the National League when discussions begin about the next collective bargaining agreement after 2016. The American League has had a DH since 1973, making it two equal but vastly different leagues.

Pitchers I spoke to were split on the idea, with Cubs’ pitcher Jason Hammel suggesting it’d be “crazy” to bring the DH to the NL.

“It’d be a shock to the game,” he said. “The original game of baseball had the pitcher hit. To take that out (of the NL), it seems like they’re changing too many rules.”

White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija also likes the NL rules better.

“They’re talking about speeding the game up? One way is to let the pitcher ground out to the second baseman three or four times a game,” he said. “You’ve got nine guys on the field, and I think all nine guys should hit. That’s the way the game always has been played, and the way it should be played. I understand hitting is a specialized thing and we want a lot of offense, but (the DH) seems weird to me. We don’t have ghost runners, so we shouldn’t have ghost hitters.”

But Yankees pitcher Andrew Miller said the NL needs the DH because “every pitcher stinks at hitting” with a few exceptions, such as Zack Greinke.

“The pitcher is still the worst hitter in the lineup every night,” Miller said. “They get their hits when the pitcher takes them for granted and throws a fastball right down the middle. We’re talking about (increased) pace of play being a big draw for games. Do you think watching the pitcher come up to bunt, or watching the bunt defense, is really enjoyable for fans?

“As a pitcher, I’d rather face nine hitters. To me, it’s more ‘baseball.’ You have nine hitters. And the pitchers? We’re kind of a separate entity. We’re off on our own. I enjoy the American League much more. I hate seeing a starter come out of a game in the NL because their spot in the lineup is coming up. I think that’s silly, and probably not enjoyable for fans.”

Samardzija feels players should be polled before any rules changes, but admitted he enjoys the debate, no matter which side you’re on.

“A lot of times just talking about things like this builds excitement in the game,” he said. “So if the debate of having a DH in the NL or speeding up the game is what it takes, then so be it.”