FORT MYERS — The much-anticipated rule changes for the 2018 season were released yesterday, and while they aren’t as drastic as some thought — there is no pitch clock, to the relief of many — there are questions as to how they will be enforced.
The changes fall under two umbrellas. There’s the new rule that will limit teams to only six mound visits per nine innings. And there’s another that cuts the time between innings and during pitching changes.
There was suspicion the league would institute the 20-second clock between pitches, which was used in the minors last year, but commissioner Rob Manfred chose to wait on that one and give the players a chance to reduce the time of game without adding such a highly debated rule.