The World Baseball Classic pitchers are supposed to have reported by today, but many of them are already in camp, so it’s just a formality, I guess. I shared something in the last post’s comments regarding the new rule restricting when a position player can pitch, but now it seems official, along with another not-so-controversial-anymore rule:
In all regular-season extra-inning games, a runner will be placed on second base to begin the 10th inning, and in every subsequent extra inning after that, until a winner is determined, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The league is also tweaking the rule that allows position players to take the mound when their teams are leading or trailing by six or more runs.
Under the new guidelines, leading teams have to be up by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning to let a position player pitch but trailing teams can use a position player anytime they are down by eight or more runs. Position players are also allowed to pitch anytime in extra innings.
From ESPN
I don’t really care too much about the automatic runner (not a ghost, apparently, because he’s actually there) because the players and managers seem to like it and they’re ultimately the ones who need to be comfortable with it. I do think they should do a couple innings of “regular” play (let them do the normal no-runner thing for the 10th and 11th, and then if nobody wants to win, then they deserve the additional chaos) like “extra time” in soccer before it goes to a shootout. But in the regular season, most everyone, including the field personnel, want the game over with as soon as possible, and so be it.
The second rule regarding position player pitching seems to enact a kind of “mercy rule” for the trailing team to just wave the white flag, and prevents a position player from taking the mound for the winning team if they aren’t up by a lot. It does give at least some leeway to save arms, although if there are 13 active pitchers on the staff (and one or two more during doubleheaders and September) then they should probably get some work in, ya know? I think this at least reduces the amount of time you’ll see a Frank Schwindel type take the mound and look more hopeless than usual.
Forgot to mention that the voting was apparently unanimous, so everyone in charge is on board with these rules, so like it or not, we don’t have much of a choice in the matter and might as well get used to it until they decide that the rules suck and change them again.
Comments
What changed? Maybe I don’t remember the old rule. I thought it had already been decreed this was no longer temporary.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Nothing changed for this rule, sorry for confusion. The position player pitching rule was tweaked, but the auto-runner rule was made permanent as you surmised.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Good lord (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Meh
Eagles got the calls on the second fumble that was called incomplete after 32 ran it in for 6, then the long pass that was apparently caught on the sideline but he didn’t look like he had 2 feet down with control to me. And the rationale on the 2nd play (catch) was different than the 1st (no catch).
I don’t have a rooting interest in any NFL team, so I didn’t care who won. Seemed like the close calls balanced out, just because the interference came last didn’t make it worse, to me. Ymmv.
BVSQuote Reply
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Rice CubeQuote Reply