Red Sox not thrilled with reduction of mound trips as MLB looks to speed up games

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Commissioner Rob Manfred stopped short of introducing a pitch clock for 2018, but his new initiatives to speed up the pace of play were still met with disappointment and resistance Monday.

The most sweeping change, effective this year, is mound visits that don’t involve pitching changes will be limited to six per nine innings. Those include visits from a pitching coach, manager, or teammates on the field.

In recent seasons, mound visits had become habitual, with sometimes several taking place each half inning, sometimes even during the same at-bat. Some of these were made to combat sign-stealing, with catchers going out repeatedly to change signs and guard against them being detected by opposing baserunners.

Starting this season, players and coaches will have to find a way to communicate otherwise as baseball attempts to quicken the time of games. Last season, nine-inning games averaged 3:05 during the regular season, a new record.

“I understand that we want to speed up the game,’’ said manager Alex Cora. “I get it. We don’t want as much dead time during the game. But that one is an interesting one because we know what was going on around the league. Everybody’s working hard from second base to (get an) advantage.

“But we’ve got to be very careful. Teams are very aware of switching signs and everything that is going on and there’s a lot of cross-up (between the pitcher and catcher). We’ll see how it goes. You call a breaking ball and (the pitcher) throws a fastball at 98 mph, and the catcher is looking for a breaking ball and gets hit ... now, we’re talking about safety, keeping guys on the field.’’

(Included in the rules is a provision for the home plate umpire to allow for additional visits by the catcher if the umpire believes "cross-ups" are taking place)

“I don’t like it,’’ catcher Christian Vazquez said flatly. “We’ve got six (visits) the whole game, so we need to change how we do things. If we need to change signs, don’t go to the mound right away to waste a mound visit. The game is changing so much right now. But I don’t like (the new rule), personally.’’

Beyond the issue with changing signs with runners on base, Vazquez worries he won’t be able to go to the mound to calm down a struggling pitcher.

“Maybe after a three-run homer, you need to go out there and settle him down,’’ he said. “But do you use up a mound visit? Maybe we need two in the same inning. I don’t know. We’ll see.’’

The only solace for Vazquez and other catchers is that teams now have the opportunity during exhibition games to get accustomed to the changes.

“It’s going to be tough, but we need to get comfortable with (the new rules) during spring training,’’ he said, “so that we’re ready for the regular season.’’

Cora was heartened by the fact that no pitch clock was introduced. But Manfred has effectively put the players on notice that unless they can speed up games of their volition in 2018, a pitch clock remains a possibility to be introduced in 2019.