While MLB open to pitch clocks, players’ union opposed

CINCINNATI (AP) — Baseball management is intrigued with the idea of using pitch clocks to speed play in the major leagues. The players’ association thinks it is a horrible idea.

Adopting rules requiring hitters to keep at least one foot in the batter’s box and to put up clocks timing between-innings breaks led to the average time of a nine-inning game dropping to 2 hours, 53 minutes so far this season. That is down from 3:02 for the first half of 2014.

“We decided that we would undertake a rather modest set of changes this year,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday during a meeting with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.