Phillies

Major League Baseball Will Use a Pitch Clock in Spring Training

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Feb 18th, 2019 · 11:24 AM EST

---

Rob Manfred spoke to reporters Sunday about a bunch of different things.

The MLB commissioner discussed free agency, tanking, and rule changes, and the biggest takeaway from his availability was confirmation of the implementation of a pitch clock during Spring Training.

Video:

Manfred wouldn’t commit to a pitch clock in the regular season. He’d like to come to an agreement with players, though he is able to unilaterally implement that change. 

More on that from MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch:

The 20-second clocks, which have been used in the Minors since 2015, will be phased in this spring in order to allow players and umpires to get comfortable with the system. Manfred said more details about the structure of that rollout will be announced by MLB later this week.

The purpose, Manfred said, is to “start getting ready for the possibility that we’re going to use the pitch clock on Opening Day.”

That will happen if the MLB Players Association agrees to the proposal, or if MLB chooses to use its collectively bargained right to implement it unilaterally. Under the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Commissioner has the right to impose rule changes if the MLBPA is given at least a year of notice.

This is something Manfred could have implemented last year, but the league and the MLBPA went with other pace of play tweaks instead. That included the new rules for mound visits, inning breaks, and pitching changes.

The commish said in his press conference that no other rule changes are currently planned for Spring Training. Some of the other changes discussed recently, such as the batter faced minimum and lowering of the mound, those can’t be added this season without approval from both the league and Players Association. There are also no planned changes to address defensive shifting.

He also pushed back on the idea of tanking and suggested that teams with lower payrolls can be competitive:

Rob Manfred: "I reject the notion that payroll is a good measure for how much a team is trying or how successful that team is going to be."

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 17, 2019

Rob Manfred fires back at those claiming teams are not trying to win, chiding Tony Clark for the 2018 grievance filed against A's (97 wins) Pirates (82), Rays (90 wins) and Marlins (ahem). "Every single team wants to win. It may look a little different to outsiders."

— Gabe Lacques (@GabeLacques) February 17, 2019

Yeah?

Are the Orioles and Tigers trying to win this year? Were the Phillies close to winning anything as recently as 2-3 years ago? No, but they still made a ton of money off broadcast rights and revenue sharing. Of course sport can be cyclical, but is it any coincidence that the Red Sox and Dodgers met in the World Series a few months back?

Carry on.