MLB Announces New Slide Rule, Pace of Play Changes
Months after (Chase) Utley’s controversial take-out slide during last year’s postseason, Major League Baseball and the Players Association announced a policy Thursday requiring runners “to make a bona fide attempt to reach and remain on the base” while sliding.
Though runners can still initiate contact with fielders “as a consequence of an otherwise permissible slide,” they cannot change their path or “utilize a ‘roll block’ for the purpose of initiating contact with the fielder.” Runners must make contact with the ground before reaching the base, must slide within reach of the base with their hand or foot and must attempt to stay on the base after completing their slides.
If a runner violates the rule, the umpire can declare both the runner and the batter out, resulting in an automatic double play. Umpires can use instant replay to check the legality of a slide, and they can now also review so called “neighborhood play” situations—when an infielder vacates second base early to avoid contact with a runner on a double-play attempt.
SNIP
Meanwhile, MLB and the MLBPA also added another rule designed to speed up the pace of play Thursday. Starting in 2016, games will feature a 30-second clock for all mound visits by managers and pitching coaches. Additionally, breaks between innings were shortened to 2 minutes, 5 seconds for locally televised games and 2:25 for nationally televised games, down from 2:25 and 2:45, respectively.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/mlb-announces-new-slide-rule-pace-of-play-changes-1456432906
These are GOOD CHANGES.
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Fuck this.
