Blue Jays pitcher Thomas Hatch had a first-hand look at some of baseball’s rule changes when he was in the minor leagues last season.
By far the biggest difference for the right-hander was pace of play.
“Our games would start at 7 p.m. and we’d be out by 9:30 just about every night,” he said Wednesday. “Three-hour games would seem like an eternity. It took a little bit to get used to that but it was a good thing.”
Several rules implemented at lower levels in recent years will be used in the big leagues this season. Shift restrictions will be in place, pitch clocks will be used, bases will be larger and there will be pickoff attempt limits.
Major League Baseball is hoping for a quicker, safer, more exciting product by making what it calls the most significant rule alterations in decades.
“I think overall it’s going to be good for the game and good for the fans,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
MLB executives were on site at TD Ballpark on Wednesday afternoon to deliver a slideshow to media members and provide on-field demonstrations. The pitch timer is considered to be the biggest change.
Batters and pitchers will have to get ready quicker. If they’re not on time, they could be charged with an automatic ball or strike.
In addition, infielders can no longer load up on one side of the diamond or move into the shallow outfield. At least two infielders must be completely on either side of second base or risk the penalty of an automatic ball.
“I love it,” said Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. “I think that there were shifts for a good reason obviously with numbers and knowing a little bit more about players’ tendencies and stuff like that.
“But I don’t really know if the game was meant to be played that way.”
The new bases will be 18 inches (45.7 centimetres) on each side, up three inches from before. Injury prevention by minimizing player contact is one potential benefit and more aggressive base-running is another.
“I was planning to be more aggressive anyway but obviously I guess it’s going to be easier with those rules and pickoff [limits] and all that,” Bichette said. “So that’ll be something that we have to learn and see what we can take advantage of there.”
The changes will be in effect for the start of Grapefruit and Cactus League play this month. The Blue Jays open their preseason schedule on Feb. 25 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Expect an adjustment period as umpires, timers, pitchers, hitters, managers and coaches adapt to the implementation.
“Guys get used to a certain cadence of their game and their routine,” Schneider said. “That’s going to be a little bit different. So we’ve built in some constraints for spring.”
The Blue Jays’ big-league staff also had regular off-season interactions with the club’s minor-league coaches and players to discuss the nuances of the rules and adjustments that were required.
There have also been discussions on what to expect from opposing teams across MLB since some teams have different styles than others.
There will be strategy in play on timing routines, leadoff styles and false breaks. To get around shift restrictions, some clubs may bring an outfielder closer to the infield.
“New is different and it’s going to take a little bit of time,” Schneider said.
Infielder Addison Barger, a sixth-round Blue Jays’ draft pick in 2018, has seen it all after playing Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A last season.
“It’s definitely more hurried but it does makes a pretty big difference with pace of play,” he said. “The pitch clock gets annoying but it’s part of it.
“It moves the game along. You get used to it after a couple [at-bats]. It’s fine.”
Hatch said it took him about a month to get used to the timer.
“I think it takes a little bit of the thinking aspect out of it, which can be good and can be bad for some people,” he said. “I think some people are more methodically thinking while they’re pitching.
“I think some people are just more physical and just like to go out and throw the ball.”
There will be 30 seconds between batters and two minutes 15 seconds between innings. When runners are on base, pitchers will have 20 seconds to deliver their pitch and just 15 seconds when the bases are empty.
“When you implement anything new, there’s some adjustment and some getting used to it and maybe some complaining here and there,” Hatch said.
“But I think once everybody acclimates to it, it’ll be a good thing.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
