A runner will be placed on second base at the start of the 11th inning of the All-Star Game, and in each additional inning, in accordance with a proposal from MLB management.
The experiment would also be used in the 10th inning in preseason games, according to a Jan. 9 proposals obtained by The Associated Press. The matches of the training camps would be limited to 10 innings.
Concerned about injuries in games that do not count, the players' guild will almost certainly not oppose the concept. MLB does not plan to use the rule in regular-season games. The Major Leagues experienced last year with the minor-level rule in the Arizona and Gulf Coast leagues.
Unable until now to reach an agreement with the players for a timing of throws or limits to mound visits, team owners will discuss their next steps in meetings ending Thursday in Beverly Hills, California.
Commissioner Rob Manfred met on January 23 with the president of the players' guild Tony Clark. Manfred has long promised to make changes this season with or without the agreement with the players but says he prefers an agreement and is willing to negotiate the rules.
MLB has the right to implement the proposal made at the end of last season, which includes a limit of 30 seconds between batters and 20 seconds between pitches that would start from scratch every time the pitcher leaves the mound or when he throws or intends to throw to a base to surprise a runner. There would also be a limit of one trip to the mound per pitcher each inning, and a second visit would result in a change of pitcher. The violations would be punished with ball-strikes penalties.
The average of the matches in the last campaign
The nine-inning games averaged a record of 3 hours and 5 minutes during the regular season of 2017 and 3:29 in the postseason. The players have resisted the throwing timer, while they seem more willing to limit visits to the mound.
Under the most recent major league proposal, there would be a throw timer only when there are no runners on bases and it would be set at 18 seconds. A 20-second chronometer with runners on bases would be added for 2019.