New rules will have a major impact on the game

Until today I did not really mind about the new rules that are implemented to speed up the game of baseball. But after seeing this clip I think these new rules will have a major impact.

A few highlights of those new rules:

-Umpires will enforce Rule 6.02(d), which requires hitters to keep one foot in the box during an at-bat, subject to certain exceptions.

-Timers will be used to ensure that the game resumes promptly at the end of inning breaks.

-Managers will no longer come out of the dugout to initiate a replay challenge. A manager will also keep his challenge after each call that is overturned. Last season, a challenge was retained only after the first overturned call.

-Pitchers only have twenty seconds between two pitches.

The first thing that struck my eye was the rule in which a manager will keep his challenge after the call is overturned. So they can challenge every call within the rule. IMO this is the biggest mistake they can make. I don’t think this will speed up the game at all.

When it comes to players that like to work slowly, this new set of rules can have both a positive and negative impact.
Hitters like Big Papi who like to reposition the bands of their batting gloves after every pitch, may have a hard time. This may influence their psyche in a negative way, at least in the first few weeks. Pitchers who like to work slow, have to hurry up now. This also can have a negative impact resulting in bad pitches. From the side of the hitter these rules may speed up the game indeed. When they are not comfortable with it, it may lead to more strikeouts.

But I also think that these new rules may be stressful for umpires. If they really have to act like a police officer to make hitters stay in the batters box with one foot, or to make sure that the pitcher will throw the next pitch within twenty second, it must be exhausting, especially mentally.

I know these are all assumptions, so we have to wait and see how this new set of rules will pan out. But I fear that the impact on the game will be a lot bigger than only the pace of it. It will influence the players in their performance. Baseball players have a certain kind of routines. It is hard to let these routines go.

And all this because today’s high speed society does not have the patience to watch a baseball game in the pace it should be played: Quiet.