Maybe managers don't do it as much as I think they do, but I can't tell you how annoying it is to see multiple pitching changes during the late inning of close games. I have to think that it's impact would be more than one pitching change per game.
I also like the way it will force the managers to plan their pitching strategies a little more.
If MLB really wants to speed up games, taking down situations that don’t happen in every game, and only happen once or twice in games they do appear in, isn’t going to make a big difference.
That would be like Hollywood deciding movies are too long and the solution is “Nicholas Cage gets two less lines in all his movies.”
The MLB rulebook has times already established for how long a pitcher can take. Start there...
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
Oddly enough, while pitchers who take forever in between pitches or batters who step out of the box between every pitch can be annoying, I am a fan of the cat and mouse games that go on between the pitcher and the batter. I'm actually okay with those rules not being enforced.
An anti-Mike Hargrove rule has long been needed.
I remember wanting a snack during Sox-Rangers games and thinking “I’ll just wait until Hargrove comes up.” Because I knew I had time to walk to the store, pick something out, and walk back home before Bump Willis came to bat...
Reminds me of another one. Cody Gearrin. Began the year in the Seattle bullpen then got traded to the Yankees. During that opening series last year, Eck called him the "Human Rain Delay" and I haven't stopped laughing at that since. If you can find some clips of him on YouTube, it's well worth it. He makes Buchholz and Price look as fast as Sale
Eck stole the Human Rain Delay nickname from Hargrove, the original owner of it.
Hargrove was the worst. After every pitch, he would step out, adjust his gloves, knock dirt from his cleats, adjust his helmet, step out and take 3 practice swings, step back in the box, adjust his glove, and adjust his helmet. And to make it worse, he was not exactly Mike Greenwell when it came to pitch selection. Hargrove was a very patient hitter who was frequently near the top of the league in walks. And to make it even worse than that, he frequently batted leadoff. So he did this 5 times a game.
Hargrove's reputation was so bad that in 1984 - and no idea why I remember this - the Twins were looking for a left-handed hitting 1B and acquired Pat Putnam from Seattle over Hargrove. One of their players quipped "Good. Now we can play 3 hour games instead of 4 hour ones."