The NCAA announced last week a couple of potential rule changes for college baseball from adding a pitch clock in at all levels to eliminating four pitch walks among other things which can be checked out by clicking here. I was able to talk to several coaches around the country to get their reaction from Division 1 through Division 3 as some of the changes have different effects to some schools. You can leave your comments in the section at the bottom of the article.
Jayson King, Dayton
The NCAA rules committee does an incredible job of looking at our game and making changes that have a positive effect on what we are doing. Some of the new rules with video replay, 6 defensive conferences, blocking bases, stretch position and leaving position are pretty simple and to me obvious quality adjustments to the rule book. I do however like having the pitcher throw the 4 pitches on an intentional walk and being able to discuss HBP situations. The pitchers set-up in the wind-up, hit by pitch rule, 3b to 1b pickoff have been rules which have been discussed and adjusted many times throughout the years. Those are rules that are a work in progress in my mind moving forward and ones that may be changed again at some point.
Overall our game is thriving in many ways and in some part due to adjustments that have been made along the way on baseballs, bats etc. I am thankful for the continued effort put forth by the rules committee to make our game better.
Steve Trimper, Stetson
Pitch clock: Although I am fine with speeding up the game, I am concerned that not all programs in Division 1 will have the ability to install a clock, either due to facilities or funding.
Review: Big fan of the review, and very happy that it seems the NCAA is expanding the review plays. The current NCAA regional and super regional review does not allow for tag plays, out/safe at base, etc, that are very important to get right. All teams have been on both sides of a call, but it is more satisfying when we know the call was right, especially in a Conference, Regional, Super, or College World Series game.
Pitching Rule Changes: I am fine with the 3rd to 1st play as being allowed but it does slow the game and should be considered a balk. However, I do not agree with the 4 pitch automatic walk. This past season, we won a game on an overthrow with a man on 3rd, and we saw the same play happen in an SEC game. Also, there was a great article recently written in the Boston papers by a reporter that covered Eastern CT State when I was a player, describing a game he attended when we won a very important game over Amherst College in 1991 where a batter was being walked as I was on 3rd. The pitch was too close to the plate and the batter hit a line drive to allow us to walk off.
All other rule changes seem to help umpiring crews get the calls right, and allow the game to move at a good pace.
Mike Glavine, Northeastern
It’s exciting to see the committee continue to address the state of college baseball and rules changes. I am generally in favor of changes to improve the pace of play. Personally for me, a faster pace leads to more energy, excitement and a better overall fan experience. I know most of the focus is on the 20 second clock and 2 minutes in between innings but I believe limiting defensive conferences, the 4 pitch intentional walk and 3rd to 1st moves will also help with improving pace. Technology continues to improve so it is understandable to see review become more common in the game. Obviously the main goal is to get the call correct but hopefully the technology is consistent from field to field and does not affect the overall flow of games.
Ray Ricker, Post University
My thoughts on the potential rule changes in college baseball is mixed. In regards to the pitch clock I think it is not needed. With the spring temperatures in the Northeast I think pace of play is good, when you are playing in some snow showers the players, coaches, and umpires want to keep it moving so I don’t know how much the pitch clocks would come into play. I think the added costs would hurt a lot of intuitions and who would be running it? I wouldn’t want an 18 year old work study student effecting the outcome of the game on the road.
With the video review I like the idea but I think the cost of the video equipment would again hurt at all of the levels. I think getting the call right is what every coach and umpire wants at the end of the day, but I don’t think a lot of schools are set up for this technology. We are fortunate to have minor league set up with our field and press box but some schools do not even have a covered area for their SID’s so now you create a problem for a good amount of schools across every level.
The hit by pitch rule is a very tough rule to enforce and every umpire has their own version of it. With the evo shields and guys getting on top of the plate guys are looking to get plunked and create some offense. I think I speak for every coach and just want the rule enforced the same way by every umpire. I like keeping the first and third move legal in the college game. I think we catch a good amount of guys off guard with the move. I am all for the intentional walk rule, it will help speed up the pace of play and keep the game moving. Usually the first time a player attempts an intentional walk is when he is on campus so I think we can eliminate a lot of problems just awarding the batter first base.
With some programs across all levels cutting baseball I would hate to see the added technology negatively affect programs, which I think it would put major financial constraints on too many programs,
Joe Brown, Cortland
As a Division 3 coach, why are we making these changes to College Baseball? How much are we changing by eliminating the third to first move and intentional walks? Is it a reaction to MLB? We really should start looking at the amount of warmup pitches that guys get when they come into the game. They currently get eight pitches while already warming up in the bullpen for 10-20 minutes. Why can’t we cut that down to say four?
I am currently getting a new scoreboard for the 2018-2019 school year for my field. Should I buy one with a pitch clock so we can add it to the scoreboard? Where is it going? We have all been to a division 3 basketball game and seen a student screw up the shot clock and everyone is yelling at them. Will this happen at the D-3 baseball level?
We have to discuss the future of our sport from the Division 1 level down to Division 3 and where we want to go.
