BRADENTON, Fla. — Major League Baseball ended months of speculation Monday when it announced its pace of play initiatives, which included a limit on mound visits but no pitch clock.
Pirates pitchers Trevor Williams and Felipe Rivero both described the changes as being a non-issue, however, their catcher had a much different opinion. Francisco Cervelli is concerned the nine-inning limit on mound visits will jeopardize the integrity of the game.
The 31-year-old said he'll be forced to adjust to the rule, but he made it clear he will consider not following the rule if he believes a mound visit is needed to help the Pirates win a game.
"I’ll let you know when spring training starts," Cervelli said Tuesday morning at Pirate City. "During spring training I’ll go there one time and that’s it. But during the season you want to win games and you want to do anything you can. If you have a man at second and a guy is stealing signs over there, if you have to go there 10 times you have to go. I don’t know. We’ll figure something out."
Each team is allowed six mound visits per nine innings with an additional visit for every extra inning played. Pitching changes do not count as a visit. Any manager, coach or player going to the mound having direct communication with the pitcher will count as one, though.
"That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard," Cervelli added. "This is baseball, man. This is about tempo. Change tempo. Sometimes you go to the mound not because you want to go there but it’s because you have to. Somebody is warming up, giving time. You have to say one word to make your pitcher come back. That’s not baseball. … I don’t think visiting the mound is going to slow the game. This is a chess game. It’s strategy."
There are exceptions to the rule.
Visits to the mound to clean cleats, to check on an injury or potential injury or after the announcement of an offensive substitution are exceptions. Also, normal communication between player and pitcher that does not require either to vacate their position on the field does not count as a visit.
If a team is out of visits and there is a miscommunication with signals, the catcher can ask the umpire for permission to visit the mound. The umpire will simply prevent a mound visit if a team tries to exceed its limit.
"I don’t know what’s going to happen," Cervelli said. "I guess they’re smarter than us. I guess we have to adjust. That’s it. Close our mouths and adjust."
In addition to the limit on mound visits, a timer will still count down between innings from 2:05 for breaks in locally televised games, from 2:25 in nationally televised games and from 2:55 for tiebreaker and postseason games.
The change, though, is at the 25-second mark the umpire will signal for the final warmup pitch and the pitcher must throw it before the clock hits 20. The batter will be announced at the 20-second mark and the pitcher must begin his windup to throw the first pitch of the inning as the clock hits zero.
A pitcher is also no longer guaranteed eight warmup pitches between innings, but he can take as many as he wants within the countdown rules. Those rules also apply to pitching changes. Repeat offenders of the rule could be subject to a fine, although there won’t be any punishment for violating the rule during a game.
But starting pitchers have no intention of following that rule if they were on the bases when the final out was recorded in the previous half-inning.
"The umpire will know," Williams said. "From our understanding, the umpire will have to enforce the rule but there will be exceptions. If I made an out, I'm on second base, I'm going to catch my breath before going out there to warm up. If the umpire calls a ball for that, then I'll take the ball."
Additionally, new phone lines connecting the video review rooms and the dugout will be installed and monitored to try to limit the ability of teams to steal signs. Rules instituted last season to govern when players can and cannot leave the batter’s box between pitches remain in effect.
MLB decided against implementing a pitch clock, although Rivero said, "I don't think that would have been a big deal anyways. You should only need 8-10 seconds. We had it in the minor leagues, and I thought it was nothing."
The new rules will be implemented in time for spring training games Friday, giving managers, coaches and players time to adjust. The idea is to give everyone time to gain a firm understanding of the rules before games actually count. Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage said he will adjust by using his time in the dugout with the starter between innings to communicate any adjustments, adding that he will approach the changes "open-minded."
Questions remain, though, on how the rules will be enforced by umpires and what they could mean for future changes made to the game. Commissioner Rob Manfred has said repeatedly that the sport must shorten games to attract younger viewers. Williams doesn't disagree.
"Players know the game needs to get sped up for future generations to watch the game," Williams said. "We can't have three-and-a-half hour games. Granted, playoff games that were four hours long were entertaining, but that's baseball. You're not going to sit and watch a quarter and walk away. It's not like football or basketball. You can't just watch a few innings of baseball and think you saw the entire game. When people watch baseball games they know it's going to be a longer ride."
Cervelli disagrees. Although Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has been criticized for the frequency of his mound visits, Cervelli said that's what makes Molina great, and he stated that it's not only the players that are slowing down the game.
"Why do I need to speed up the game?" Cervelli asked. "I've been playing this game for a long time. For us in the field, it's different. We play as long as we can. We have to win. What are you going to talk to the [Red Sox and Yankees] when those games are four hours all the time? Then you have to go to the mound because you have [Giancarlo] Stanton, [Aaron] Judge and Gary Sanchez. If I have to go there every pitch I go, but now you can't. I don't want those guys to beat me. I guess we have to figure out something else. I think sometimes I'm squatting behind the plate and I have to wait for TV. And I never say anything."
