Are major changes coming to Major League Baseball?

Commissioner Rob Manfred has a lot of ideas that he think would improve the game of baseball and he hopes to add them shortly.

Major changes might be coming to baseball very soon. Often criticized for games being too long, Major League Baseball did nothing to help this problem when they added instant replay and manager challenges, both unnecessary additions. Next, according to Yahoo Sports, commissioner Rob Manfred has discussed making more changes.

Restricting defensive shifts, limiting pitching changes, altering the strike zone and adding a pitch clock are all points of emphasis.

“The point of the conversation today was that the game has changed dramatically,” Manfred said. “And the question is, you take a snapshot after 40 years of that and you say, wow, here’s what it looks like, here’s what it used to look like and should we be thinking about what has occurred and whether we want to allow it to continue to go on the path it’s on?”

Manfred believes that relievers often work slower than starters and this extends the game so he wants to put a limit on pitching changes. This would only hurt the starting pitchers. It would force them to go longer than they normally would which could damage their arms in the long run.

When it comes to defensive shifts, taking them away would limit the amount of managing that teams have to do. It is like telling Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim that he is no longer allowed to play his zone defense.

Altering the strike zone is somewhat irrelevant because umpires often have their own strike zone anyway that they use. It is certainly not generic. Manfred spoke on how the installation of a pitch clock in the minor leagues has been great so he would like to bring that to the professional level.

Next: MLB's 20 Richest Players of All-Time

Baseball has been around for over 100 years and it is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world. A lot of changes have been made to the game including replay and the addition of the DH in the American League but at what point is it time to say enough is enough?

Manfred is close to that point and with these changes, he would completely change America’s pastime.