Rob Manfred is a curious commissioner, a cart-before-the-horse kind of chief executive who seems to create solutions, then search for problems with which to pair them. To him, baseball is a game afflicted by a pace of play plague curable only by his mound visit limits and pitch clocks. His latest proposal to save baseball from itself takes effect this season and will, with few exceptions, require pitchers to face at least three batters; designed to speed up the game by cutting down on pitching changes, the rule will increase the uncertainty surrounding the KC Royals’ bullpen.
The new rule isn’t complicated, but its implementation and impact could be.