Major League Baseball has announced a handful of new rules that will go into effect for the 2017 season.
Major League Baseball and the MLBPA officially announced several rule changes for the upcoming 2017 season. Most of the new rules were anticipated, especially the institution of the no-pitch intentional walk. Changes were also made in an effort to speed up the replay process.
None of the big changes that Commissioner Rob Manfred wanted for the game were improved, most notably lifting the bottom of the strike zone. With three rule changes directed at replay, it is obvious the league wants to streamline the process. Managers will no longer be able to stall for an extended period of time while deciding whether or not to challenge a play. The actual review will now be limited to two minutes. This will help minimize lengthy reviews on borderline plays.
There are two very interesting rules to come out of this announcement. The update to Rule 5.07 seems to specifically target Carter Capps of the San Diego Padres and his crow-hop delivery. The league had previously ruled that Capps could use his delivery, but this new rule appears to outlaw pitchers from resetting their pivot foot.
This new rule may or may not affect Capps. He is a big reliever armed with a 99-mph fastball. Capps missed the entire 2016 season while recovering from elbow surgery, but struck out 58 hitters in 31.0 innings in 2015. Now with the Padres, Capps is back and throwing in camp, and had not made any move to change his delivery. If the player’s union had an inkling this rule was coming down the pike, it should have done more to make him aware of the potential change.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will also no longer be allowed to utilize laser-positioning tools to set up their outfielders. They came under fire for this practice last year. Again, not a big change in terms of overall impact, but the league is cracking down on just how far teams can use technology to gain an advantage on the field.
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Baseball will mostly be the same in 2017 as these new rules roll out. Cutting down on the amount of dead time surrounding replay is a positive step. Losing the funky delivery of Carter Capps and a few others might make the game more fair, but takes away some of the eccentricity of baseball. All in all, a very ho-hum set of rules despite the Commissioner’s desire to make sweeping changes to the sport.