Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced a series of changes that will be implemented in 2019 and 2020.
Here are the major changes that will begin in the 2019 season.
- All inning breaks down to 2 minutes
- $1 million bonus for winning the Home Run Derby
- Reduced mound visits, 5 per game
- No more waiver trade deadline, July 31 trade deadline remains
- New "Election Day" voting for All-Star Game
- Opening Day to August 31 rosters increased from 25 to 26 players
- September rosters decreased from 40 to 28
- Pitchers must face three batters minimum
- Limitations on position players pitching in games
- Players on injured list for 15 days instead of 10
- Minimum option time for pitchers increased to 15 days
Anyway, the biggest change to the game is that pitchers will now be required to face at least three batters, or finish an inning. That means you can say goodbye to the traditional left-handed relief specialists starting in 2020. The new three-batter minimum is something that Cubs manager Joe Maddon is strongly against.
Ughhhh, Joe, you just have to change your strategy now. It's not like you completely lost full control of trying to maximize matchups late in games with different relievers. Anyway, Theo Epstein is all for the changes.
Here's the thing, though, are the new changes going to bring in more fans to watch MLB? Sure, the new rules might lead to more offense and the pace of play will pick up and that could bring in some fans, but these really aren't the biggest problems facing the league's disconnect with fans. It's pretty simple. You want to grow your sport and bring in a bigger audience? Get rid of the dumb blackout restrictions on MLBTV, so that fans can, you know, actually have easier access to watching more games.
