We are not three months removed from MLB’s owners and players coming together on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, that was put into place for the next five years. That agreement was, by all outside evaluative accounts, well constructed for the owners, and maybe not-quite-as-well-constructed for the players.
That’s important background for a revelation today from Commission Rob Manfred, which we will discuss at greater length when we have a little more context. For now, the breaking news:
Manfred: There won't be "any meaningful change" in rules for 2017 due to a "lack of cooperation" from union.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) February 21, 2017
Manfred rips MLBPA for not even agreeing to limits on trips to mound.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) February 21, 2017
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Rob Manfred says he's "disappointed" the MLBPA wouldn't agree to "modest" changes, including limiting visits to the mound.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) February 21, 2017
Rob Manfred says MLB can pursue unilateral rule changes in Year 2 of the CBA without MLBPA approval. So stay tuned.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) February 21, 2017
Among the rules changes MLB could impose, per Manfred: a pitch clock, a smaller strike zone, fewer visits to the mound, auto-intentional BB.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 21, 2017
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To be quite sure, some of the rules changes proposed by MLB were met by mixed reactions, and were justifiably expected to get some push back from the players. Others – a time limit on instant replay? limits on mound visits? – seem to be reasonable and modest, which makes you wonder if the MLBPA is pushing back aggressively for broader reasons. Without more context, I can’t yet say for sure.
So, there you go: as things stand right now, we won’t see any rules changes (strike zone, intentional walks, pitch clock, instant replay, etc.) this season. But after this season, apparently MLB has more leeway to act on its own.
As long as it doesn’t do the terrible extra-innings, runner-on-base rule change on its own …
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