SARASOTA, FLA. — Major League Baseball's effort to speed up games and make the instant replay system more effective continues to evolve, and the latest rule revisions – announced Friday – should better regulate the pace of play and correct more bad umpiring decisions.
That said, I've always felt that the sport's obsession with reducing the average time of game has little to do with improving the fan experience and everything to do with giving the television networks better scheduling certainty.
The new pace-of-game rules and time-keeping machinery (see details below) will tighten the breaks between innings and have a subtle effect on the time of game, which is fine, but it's not like there is a national fan revolt over the issue.
Maybe I travel in the wrong circles, but I've never heard anyone who paid 60 bucks for a box seat turn to the guy or gal next to him in the first inning and say, "Gee, I sure hope they get this thing over with quick." I have, however, heard grumbling about the slow pace of games in the press box over the past couple of decades, which is one of the reasons why this issue has gotten a lot of ink.
Now, I'm not saying that there wasn't a time when the players needed a little kick in the pants to get back in the batters box. When those nine-inning games between the Orioles and Yankees started stretching past four hours, MLB was right to encourage the umpires to keep things moving and they succeeded in reversing the trend.
Personally, I'm not thrilled with the idea of installing countdown clocks in two locations in each stadium. The thing that separates baseball from the other major professional sports is the lack of a time clock and now each park will have two of them.
Can't argue with the expansion of replay and the addition of an extra manager's challenge in the postseason. If you're going to have a video replay system, it should allow for review of any play that might affect the outcome of the game. That's also a pace-of-game issue, but the purity of the competition should not traded for a couple of extra minutes at the end of the game.