There is apparently a lot of confusion with Major League Baseball’s new “Pace of Play” rules. In 2018, Commissioner Manfred will roll-out his new “Pace of Play” rules that literally no one asked for in order to do something no one asked for: speed up baseball. Here is a breakdown of the rules for 2018.
Mound visits will be limited to six per team per nine innings, with an extra visit for every extra inning played.
Things that count as mound visits:
Manager, coach, and/or player visit to the mound
Things that do not count as mound visits:
Visits to clean cleats
Injury visits/potential injury visits
Visits after an offensive substitution
Any communication between player and pitcher where neither leave their position
The GRAY area:
If a team is out of visits, the catcher can request a visit at the umpire’s discretion in the event there is miscommunication about pitch signs (or what we call a “cross-up”)