The next South Bend Cubs/Fort Wayne TinCaps game you attend might be over faster than normal.
That’s because Minor League Baseball announced new changes this coming season that are designed to speed up the pace of play.
For Single-A baseball, coaches will now be allowed 10 mound visits at the most per game.
For extra innings, a runner will automatically start at second base for teams coming up to bat. That runner will be required to be the previous person in the batting order, meaning teams can’t just put their fastest player out there automatically.
Triple-A and Double-A teams will also be kept to a 15 second pitch clock, with the first 15 days being used as a grace period. This does NOT affect Class A baseball, where the Cubs and TinCaps play.
Minor League Baseball announces pace-of-play rules for 2018, including starting with a runner on second in extra innings, limited mound visits, pitch clocks: https://t.co/v1qRZGB12n pic.twitter.com/BigyKMpoW0
— MiLB.com (@MiLB) March 14, 2018
