The supposed future of baseball is rolling out slowly.
And making the game fast.
Major League Baseball has turned the Atlantic League into a laboratory, its players into guinea pigs. Numbers baked into the vernacular will be tampered with: 60 feet, 6 inches is in danger. Umpires themselves may be on the outs.
Slowly, in sparsely populated parks around the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, baseball is getting a look at a sped-up game that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred clearly wants.
Its watered-down debut came at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J., on Saturday, Somerset Patriots-New Britain Bees being the test pilots.
Tabled, for now, is radar-tracking technology that assists the home-plate umpire in calling balls and strikes. Eventually, blue will wear an earpiece, and TrackMan computer system that uses Doppler radar will advise on balls and strikes.
Tabled, until the second half of next season, is a plan to move the mound back 2 feet, eventually reconfiguring a sacred baseball number to the fear of pitchers around the league. Major League Baseball wants more balls put in play, and handicapping pitchers throwing triple-digits may help.
The most noticeable rule already implemented is a simple one. There is a 1-minute, 45-second break between innings. In the majors,
that’s 2:05 for locally broadcast games, 2:45 for national ones. A seemingly tiny change matters.
“We even thought about not throwing it down in between innings,” Somerset manager Brett Jodie said.
Once the last out is made, pitchers run hard to the mound, eager for time to loosen their arm. Fielders grab gloves and warm-ups are rushed.
“Bullpen guys are running in, trying to get their breath, fixing up the mound that’s already messed up,” Jodie said, “throwing your pitches, trying to calm down, getting your catcher and pitcher on the same page.”
In-game, shifts are banned, with two infielders needed on both sides of second base. The base itself — though not yet enacted — will be bigger, from 15 inches square to 18 inches square, providing more room for feet to coexist.
If a pitcher runs into trouble, no longer can a manager calm him down in the Atlantic League. Mound visits by players and coaches are banned.
It is a faster game without the fuss. Players are seemingly always on the move, and the prolonged breaks Manfred has targeted are largely missing.
“What the heck is going on here?” was the initial thought by Patriots pitcher Nate Roe when he heard about the new rules.
For the players themselves, it’s complicated. They are dummies at baseball’s disposal. On the other hand, baseball knows about these dummies.
TrackMan data being sent from empty ballparks directly to MLB means spin rates and exit velocities will be available on players not attached to major league clubs. Maybe more success stories like Rich Hill’s can emerge.
“[It] might give us a better chance of being able to get picked up and go and play affiliated ball,” Roe said. “At the end of the day, that’s really what the goal is. As much as we like to establish a team atmosphere here, we still want to get out of here. This isn’t the endgame.”“We didn’t make those decisions. But we have to roll with it,” said Somerset shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, last season an Atlantic League All-Star. “We’re going to get more eyes on us every game.”
It is easier to find the positives after the biggest potential negative was postponed. The mounds are not moving back just yet. When it happens, statistics will be skewed for both pitcher and hitter.
“It’s like telling someone who’s a basketball player,” Roe trailed off, not immediately finishing that the 3-point line would be moved back. “… It’s so easy to crap on it. Who knows, it could make my breaking ball better. Who knows, I could have success with it. I’m at that point where, I’m ready to embrace it.”
Will baseball fans do the same?