MLB wants pitch clock rules sorted out this spring, not midseason

MLB’s senior vice president for baseball operations Peter Woodfork says the league wants to have any issue with baseball’s new pace-of-play to be dealt with in spring training so that no problems arise during the regular season

MLB senior vice president for baseball operations Peter Woodfork says the league wants to have any issue with baseball’s new pace-of-play rules to be dealt with in spring training so that no problems arise during the regular season.

“Hopefully we’ll work out everything we need to do in spring training,” Woodfork said to the Houston Chronicle. “And by the start of the season, everyone’s locked in and we can kind of move forward. I think that’s the goal overall.”

When baseball implemented the new rules for home-plate collisions in February 2014, the league ended up having to tweak the rules in midseason as players and managers were unsure what constituted blocking the plate.

Celebrities at Spring Training

Kate Upton

Here's a look at celebrities at spring training through the years.

Cameron Diaz

David Goldman/AP

John Goodman

Doug Murray/AP

Eva Longoria and Ricardo Antonio Chavira

Danny Moloshok/AP

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren

Scott Audette/AP

Regis Philibin

Chris O'Meara/AP

Matthew Broderick

Ron Frehm/AP

George Clooney

Kathy Willens/AP

Jerry Seinfeld

Brad Barr/USA Today Sports

Billy Crystal

Kathy Willens/AP

Will Ferrell

Chris Carlson/AP

Kevin Costner

Rodrigo Pena/AP

Matthew McConaughey

Scott Audette/AP

Jordin Sparks

Morry Gash/AP

Ron Howard

Kathy Willens/AP

Muhammad Ali, George Brett, Joe Torre and Wayne Gretzky

Tony Gutierrez/AP

Paul Simon

Mike Carlson/AP

James Taylor

Brita Meng Outzen/AP

Sigourney Weaver

Richard Drew/AP

The Blueman Group

Gregg Forwerck/Getty Images

Charlie Pride

LM Otero/AP

Rob Schnieder and Willie Mays

Tom Hauck/Getty Images

Garth Brooks

Bill Mitchell/AP

Jennie Finch

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Jim Belushi

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Mario Lopez

Kathy Willens/AP

WWE performer Kelly Kelly

Jeff Chiu/AP

Martin Short

Kathy Willens/AP

Robin Williams

J. Meric/Getty Images

Bobby Knight

Heinz Kluetmeier/SI

David Cook

Charlie Riedel/AP

James Blake

Luis M. Alvarez/AP

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino

Richard Drew/AP

Rob Schnieder

Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

Actor Rob Schnieder (left) stands with Jeff Fassero, Ray Durham, and Barry Bonds who's portraying Paula Abdul.

Richard Gere

Kathy Willens/AP

Last week, MLB and the players union approved rule changes, which include making managers stand in the dugout to protest plays, mandating hitters keep at least one foot in the batter's box during at-bats and a quicker return from commercial breaks during television broadcasts.

• What to expect in spring training

“I think the pace of game changes are out,” he said. “We’ll see how they go this year. You have to gather information and make determinations, but I think everything is open to adjustment.”

Woodfork said that MLB will also look at the strike zone, like they it does every offseason.

"We always look at the strike zone," he said. "It’s changed in the past. I think just as stuff becomes more public, people jump on it. We review how we play the game, to pace of game to replay, to our other rules. I think it’s just part of the dynamic."

- Scooby Axson