MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that the league is looking at limiting the use of relief pitchers in games.
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Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira was later asked about the proposed rule and while he doesn’t agree with the relief pitching limit, he likes the idea of finding ways for the games to be shorter, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the structure of the game.
“I’ve got nothing against relief pitchers, but they do two things to the game”, Manfred said. He cited the fact that pitching changes themselves slow the game down in the late innings, and the fact that relievers have become so dominant that offense tends to die down at the end of a game.
This isn’t about fixing the game – the revenues generated by Major League Baseball indicate there’s no need for that – but about tweaking it in places that might help, and commissioner Rob Manfred has indicated repeatedly he is open to change, if it can help. “There’s just not that many pitchers who’d have a problem with the 20-second thing. Fans aren’t as excited about watching 3 ½ hour games as they are watching 2 ½ hour games, so anything you can do to shorten the game, I’m for it”.
Manager John Farrell expressed overall concern for pace of play but did not appear in favor of any change.
To listen to the full interview, click on the audio player above. Girardi said. “I think that’s completely too drastic”.
Every year around this time, it seems ideas are thrown around to gauge public opinion on possible new rule changes in Major League Baseball.
“In the moment [as a manager], I’m not anxious about the pace of the game. We are all aware of that challenge”, Farrell said.
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Since the start of his tenure, Manfred has a couple of times been comfortable letting the public know what he is considering, even if a particular subject is very much up in the air. That said, there are subtle changes that could be made to cut down the length of games, increase “action”, and ramp up the fan experience, changes that do not infringe on the tactics or usage available to managers.
