Reds, MLB picking up the pace as new initiative shows progress

CINCINNATI — Brayan Pena came out of the Reds dugout getting ready to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning in a game against the Atlanta Braves on May 12. Pena had to shed his catcher’s gear before grabbing his bat and helmet but that’s nothing he’s not used to doing.As Pena was taking his warm-up swings, he also took a glance out beyond the center field wall of Great American Ball Park. He saw the clock there above the Reds bullpen counting down… :06… :05… :04.Billy Hamilton couldn’t have beaten Pena to the batter’s box at that instant.”I saw the clock down to four seconds and I didn’t want to get into trouble,” Pena said.Trouble?Major League Baseball has implemented new rules intended to speed up the pace of play this season, including limiting time between innings, the amount of time relievers coming out of the bullpen have to warm up and restricting batters leaving the plate area.So far, the new rules have produced their intended results, both tangibly and intangibly.Game times across the majors (through Sunday) are down to 2:53 on the average for nine innings and 2:57 overall. MLB games took 3:02 on average to play for… Read full this story

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