There have only been a couple of Cactus League games so far, and the broadcasters and media haven’t made too much of it lately, but we know that MLB is big on pace of play this year. Among the biggest rule changes to expect in 2018 is the limit on mound visits. Given how Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon enjoys using Willson Contreras behind the dish, and how much Willson likes to converse with his batterymates, it is easy to anticipate this being a problem. Earlier, Willson did suggest that he would be willing to break the limit to make sure he got his point across to his pitcher, but MLB clamped down on that by ensuring that the umpire would either stop the visit or perhaps even eject somebody, although it isn’t clear at this time how enforcement will look like.
Make Those Mound Visits Count!
