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 nine innings and 3:07 overall in 2014. It was the first time in MLB history that the nine-inning average topped three hours.
Reds games are taking on average just 2 hours, 49 minutes. That's tied for fourth in MLB. Sunday's 9-8 loss to San Francisco took 3:25 to play but was just the ninth time in 37 games the Reds had needed more than three hours to play a game. Four of those nine games have gone to extra innings.
"That goes to show you that we really did need this in play," Reds third baseman Todd Frazier said.
The resulting quicker pace has come subtly and without interfering with the game itself.
"I noticed it the first three or four times we did it in spring training but I think our guys and guys in general have adjusted," Atlanta manager Freddie Gonzalez said. "I think the guys that are not going to adjust they won't unless you shoot them with a Taser."
The last time the average full game time was less than 2 hours, 45 minutes was 1985, when it was 2:44. The increase in game time has had several factors. Certainly the increased television exposure both nationally and regionally has required increased sponsorship and commercial time. But while baseball has always embraced its absence of a game clock and its focus on getting 27 outs and not counting down the seconds, the powers that be both within the MLB offices and the MLB Players Association realized changes needed to be made.
The game has changed over the years. Scoring is down -- there was an average of 10.28 runs per game in 2000 but just 8.13 last season -- yet the length of games continued to increase. Players are seeing more pitches in this current version of baseball. According to BaseballReference.com, the average at-bat has involved at least 3.81 pitches for the past seven seasons and hasn't been below 3.71 since 1997, when it was 3.44. The number of strikeouts per game has been at least 7.06 every season since 2010.
Those numbers aren't likely to change anytime soon. Pitchers are throwing the ball harder and batters are mindful of working counts as deep as possible.
New commissioner Rob Manfred didn't see the problem involving anything while the ball was in play. It was the extracurricular causing the delay.
"I see two distinct issues," Manfred said when he visited the Reds during spring training at Goodyear, Ariz. "Crossing that three-hour mark in terms of average game time got people focused on this issue. There's something different about 2:59 and 3:02 that's more than three minutes, just symbolically. Length of the game is one issue.
"I'm not as concerned with that as I am about the flow of the game. Taking out unnecessary breaks in the action is really what our focus is going forward."
That's what the focus has been. All 30 teams receive weekly violations reports. MLB initially planned on issuing fines for repeat violators, up to $500, based on cumulative data for each month beginning with May but the results of the first month of games was so encouraging that those fines will only be levied if a player ignores the measures repeatedly in a given series.
"I think what it's done for us as players is keep us focused on what we're doing," said San Francisco reliever Sergio Romo, who said he's one who in the past probably took too much time coming out of the bullpen or between pitches. "We understand. We're all grown men and we can all follow directions. It's well explained. The purpose is clear. It's not like they're trying to do anything sneaky or surprise us with anything. They're pretty blunt about it. They're pretty blunt with their intentions."
Pena noticed the clock and got to the batter's box on time. He spends most of his games behind the plate and hears the other side of the story from opposing batters. Pena said there is one group of players who control the pace of play more than any other: starting pitchers.
"Our starters, guys like Mike Leake, guys like Johnny Cueto, even the younger guys they still have a pretty good pace and they like to keep that tempo going," said Pena. "That says a lot about how we're going about our business. We're trying to keep it going and keep it rolling. It's all about the stuff from them. It's all about the starting pitchers. Not just ours but the other team, too."
The quickest game the Reds have played this season was 2:02 on a Sunday night when Leake and St. Louis' Adam Wainwright matched up. The Cardinals won that game, 2-1. The Reds beat Atlanta 5-1 on May 13, when rookie Raisel Iglesias went eight innings and allowed just two hits. The Reds have had 17 games under 2:40, including 10 games of 2:30 or faster. They had just nine games played in 2:30 or quicker all of last season.
The in-between innings clock is set for 2 minutes, 25 seconds, with the exception for nationally televised games when it is 2:45. By the time the clock reaches 30 seconds, pitchers are to be making their final warm-up throw. The target to begin play is at 20 seconds. Batters have to keep one foot in the batter's box with a few exceptions.
Reds right fielder Jay Bruce is one who was prone to taking extended strolls out of the batter's box following pitches. He's adjusted.
"It's something I honestly don't pay attention to," Bruce said. "It's not like you have to stay in the box the whole time. I put my back foot on the back corner of the back line. You're in the box. You can still take the time you need to prepare and get ready. I don't think it affects the game for me."
One has to wonder how Sean Casey would've handled the new rules given his penchant for fixing his batting gloves before each pitch.
"All it's done for me is it's created an awareness of let's get out there and let's get things going," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "It's real easy to sit in the dugout, take your time getting to the plate, get an extra drink of water, take an extra 10 or 15 seconds before you take the field. If you're Mike Leake, as soon as that last out is made he's sprinting out onto the field, so it's almost like he's got too much time. There's a lot of times where he's waiting for a ball to be in play."
There is a 20-second clock for in-between pitches in the minor leagues. There is a chance that could be implemented in the major leagues in future seasons. Price isn't a fan of that idea. He doesn't think it is necessary. These new rules are working.
According to FanGraphs.com, Reds' batters take 21.7 seconds between pitches. That's tied with Washington for 12th in MLB. The Reds' pitchers take just 20 seconds between pitches. Only Toronto and Washington's pitching staffs keep a brisker pace.
"If we continue to see what we've seen to this point, and I think we're one of the best in the league in shortest games and fewest amount of violations, I think it's served its purpose," Price said. "It certainly has for our club."
