Shifts have been limited all season at Double-A and Class A, where teams are required to have four players on the infield, including two on each side of second base. A third attempt that is unsuccessful results in an automatic balk.īases have been increased to 18-inch squares from 15, promoting safety - first basemen are less likely to get stepped on - but also boosting stolen bases and offense with a slightly decreased distance. Minor league pitchers also have been limited to what the regulations call “two disengagements per plate appearance” with runners on - pickoff attempts or stepping off the runner. “It’s something that takes a while to get used to, but I think overall the impact it had on the pace of the game was good,” said the Yankees’ Matt Carpenter, who spent April at Triple-A with Round Rock. MLB’s goal is to eliminate dead time, such time-consuming tics such as Nomar Garciaparra tapping toes and adjusting batting gloves between pitches. Violations dropped from 1.73 per game during the opening week to 0.52 in Week 11. “If I throw a pitch, catch the ball and then go around to the rosin bag, and then when I get on the mound and I’m looking for the sign, it’s running low and I got to say yes to that pitch,” Weber recalled.

He feared a violation that would cause ball four. He pointed to a 3-2 fastball he threw to Norwich’s Patrick Dorrian on April 17 that ended a nine-pitch at-bat with a flyout. Yankees pitcher Ryan Weber, who spent the first two months this season in the minors, favors a clock but with four additional seconds.

The clock menu