MLB to test new extra-innings rules, including starting with a runner at second base - MLB

Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Major League Baseball will test new extra-innings rules in rookie ball this season. One of those rules includes starting extra innings with a runner on second base. That rule is already implemented in the World Baseball Classic, but starting with the 11th inning, as the Chicago Tribune reported.

MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre is in favor of the experimentation. “Let’s just see what it looks like. It’s not fun to watch when you go through your whole pitching staff and wind up bringing a utility infielder in to pitch. As much as it’s nice to talk about being at an 18-inning game, it takes time,” Torre said. He continued, “It’s baseball. I’m just trying to get back to that, where this is the game that people come to watch. It doesn’t mean you’re going to score. You’re just trying to play baseball.”

The proposed change would have some tangible benefits, such as shortening games, reducing the stress of travel after those long games, and limiting abuse of pitchers’ arms.

The minor leagues have been Major League Baseball’s laboratory for rule changes because those alterations don’t need union approval… because there is no union. Both the owners and the players’ union would have to come to an agreement to adopt this proposed extra-innings rule at the major league level, so it seems unlikely that would happen in the very near future.

There were 189 extra-inning games last season out of 2,430 games played, or 7.6 percent. Of those 189 games, 75 lasted 10 innings (40%), 50 lasted 11 innings (26%), 31 lasted 12 innings (16%), 19 lasted 13 innings (10%), and 14 lasted 14 innings or longer (7%). 26 players who are typically position players pitched last season, and only two of those players were brought in during extra innings: Darwin Barney (19th inning on July 1) and Ryan Goins (18th inning also on July 1).

It seems, based on this data, that long extra-innings games — even those involving position players pitching — aren’t really that big of an issue. That being said, reducing the length and amount of extra-inning games in the minors could be very helpful because it will help preserve many young, developing arms and potentially avoid otherwise unnecessary injuries.

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CARSON CITY, Nev. — A bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature would give the Oakland Athletics up to $380 million for a potential 30,000 seat, $1.5 billion retractable roof stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

The bulk of the public funding would come from $180 million in transferable tax credits from the state and $120 million in county bonds, which can vary based on interest rate returns. Clark County also would contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

The A’s have been looking for a home to replace Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. The team had sought to build a stadium in Fremont, San Jose and finally the Oakland waterfront, all ideas that never materialized.

The plan in the Nevada Legislature won’t directly raise taxes. It can move forward with a simply majority vote in the Senate and Assembly. Lawmakers have a little more than a week to consider the proposal before they adjourn June 5, though it could be voted on if a special session is called.

The Athletics have agreed to use land on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort sits. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has said he is disappointed the team didn’t negotiate with Oakland as a “true partner.”

Las Vegas would be the fourth home for a franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54. It would become the smallest TV market in Major League Baseball and the smallest market to be home to three major professional sports franchises.

The team and Las Vegas are hoping to draw from the nearly 40 million tourists who visit the city annually to help fill the stadium. The 30,000-seat capacity would make it the smallest MLB stadium.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ prospective move to Las Vegas could take place when owners meet June 13-15 in New York.

The plan faces an uncertain path in the Nevada Legislature. Democratic leaders said financing bills, including for the A’s, may not go through if Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoes the five budget bills, which he has threatened to do as many of his priorities have stalled or faded in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Under the bill, the Clark County Board of Commissioners would create a homelessness prevention and assistance fund along the stadium’s area in coordination with MLB and the Nevada Resort Association. There, they would manage funds for services, including emergency rental and utility assistance, job training, rehabilitation and counseling services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The lease agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority would be up for renewal after 30 years.

Nevada’s legislative leadership is reviewing the proposal, Democratic state Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said in a statement.

“No commitment will be made until we have both evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including impacted community members,” Yeager said.