Manfred: No major rule changes in '17 due to union's 'lack of cooperation'
When the 2017 regular season gets underway, Major League Baseball won't be played any differently.
On Tuesday, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred appeared in front of the media at a press conference in Arizona to discuss a number of topics, including proposed rule changes ahead of the 2017 season, which he said won't be implemented due to "lack of cooperation from the MLBPA,"
''Unfortunately it now appears that there really won't be any meaningful change for the 2017 season due to a lack of cooperation from the MLBPA,'' Manfred said, according to The Associated Press. ''I've tried to be clear that our game is fundamentally sound, that it does not need to be fixed as some people have suggested, and I think last season was the kind of demonstration of the potential of our league to captivate the nation and of the game's unique place in American culture.'
''I believe it's a mistake to stick our head in the sand and ignore the fact that our game has changed and continues to change.''
Manfred has made fixing the pace of play in MLB a mission of his for quite some time now, and he appeared frustrated with the decision when speaking with reporters at the conference.
He did go on to mention that next year MLB has more leeway on affecting potential changes in the future, and that they will unilaterally impose these revisions to the rules then, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Some of the proposed changes that were being discussed included a pitch clock, smaller strike zone, less visits to the pitching mound, and automatic intentional walks.
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