Major League Baseball is looking for changes to speed up their games….
The new rule — which will be phased into spring training games beginning March 12 — also means the days of the LOOGY (which stands for “left-handed, one-out guy”) are effectively over because those matchup specialists frequently will be required to face at least one right-handed batter in their relief stints. Versatile relievers capable of retiring batters from both sides of the plate will carry added value.
There will be two exceptions to the three-batter minimum rule: A pitcher may be removed after facing fewer than three batters if he reached the end of a half-inning, and umpires will have discretion to waive the rule in the event of an injury.
Another timesaving measure for 2020 is a reduction in the amount of time a manager has in which to ask for a replay challenge, from 30 seconds to 20 — another attempt to shave dead time off games….
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