Red Sox owner believes pitch clock coming to MLB in next year or two
Boston Red Sox owner John Henry believes a pitch clock is coming to major league baseball in the next year or two, according to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe.
MLB owners are reportedly seeking changes with the players union concerning the pace of play during games, and a 20-second pitch clock will reportedly be used in Double-A and Triple-A games in 2015.
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MLB created a committee in September to help study the issue, as games took an average of more than three hours to complete last season, up from two hours and 46 minutes in 2003.
An Arizona Fall League game played in October experimented with new measures to speed up pace of play, and the game took two hours and 14 minutes to complete. During the game, a 20-second pitch clock was used and breaks between half-innings were limited to two minutes and five seconds.
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If pitchers took more than 20 seconds to throw the ball to the plate an automatic ball was called. Teams were also limited to three conferences at the pitcher's mound per game and implemented no-pitch intentional walks, in which a manager relayed to the home-plate umpire he wanted to intentionally walk a batter by signaling with four fingers.
Other changes the minor leagues will implement this season include a rule that batters leave one foot in the box as well as a time limit on pitching changes and breaks between innings.
- Molly Geary and Scooby Axson
