NEW YORK — Major League Baseball is introducing some of its most radical rules next season, adopting a pitch clock and limiting defensive shifts after concluding modern analytics created a slower, less entertaining sport.
The decisions were made Friday by the sport’s 11-man competition committee over the unanimous opposition of the panel’s four players. Commissioner Rob Manfred pushed for the innovations along with a management team that included former Boston and Chicago Cubs executive Theo Epstein, now an MLB consultant.
“The influx of data in our industry,” Epstein said, “have not improved the game from an esthetic standpoint or from an entertainment standpoint. So in my role now, it’s my responsibility to try to look at the big picture, think about what’s great for fans.”
Players supported the third major initiative: larger bases that are expected to lessen injuries and lead to more stolen bases because of a decreased distance of 4 1/2 inches.
Manfred called the rules an attempt to “bring back the best form of baseball.”
“Number one, fans want games with better pace,” he said during a news conference. “Two, fans want more action, more balls in play. And three, fans want to see more of the athleticism of our great players.”
Union head Tony Clark was noticeably absent, as he was at the announcement of an agreement in March that ended a 99-day lockout.
“Players live the game – day in and day out. On-field rules and regulations impact their preparation, performance, and ultimately, the integrity of the game itself,” the union said in a statement. “Major League Baseball was unwilling to meaningfully address the areas of concern that players raised.”
The pitch clock will be set at 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds with runners — up from the 14/19 tested at Triple-A this season and 14/18 at lower minor league levels.
BREWERS: Milwaukee right-hander Freddy Peralta was placed on the 15-day IL with inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
The 2021 All-Star left during the third inning of his start Thursday night in Milwaukee against San Francisco due to fatigue in the shoulder.
Milwaukee recalled right-hander Justin Topa from Triple-A Nashville.
RAYS: Shortstop Wander Franco was activated from the 10-day injured list by the Tampa Bay Rays after missing two months with a right hamate bone injury that required surgery.
The 21-year-old was batting second in the series opener against the AL East-leading New York Yankees.
“We’re excited to get him back here. He’s such a big part of our club,” Rays Manager Kevin Cash said. “He makes us better in the lineup. He makes us better defensively, and we’ll just see how it goes.”
Franco went on the IL July 10. An injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Durham in mid-August was cut short in its first game when the former top prospect experienced a sore hand. He resumed play with Durham last Sunday and went 6 for 11 in three games.
YANKEES: Derek Jeter returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time in five years and was honored for his induction to the Hall of Fame two years ago.
With his Hall plaque on a stand in front of the pitcher’s mound, Jeter spoke at the end of a 27-minute ceremony before Friday night’s game against Tampa Bay.
“I was born in New Jersey. I grew up in Kalamazoo. I live now down in Miami,” he said near the end of his 4-minute speech. “But right here in front of you, with you, is where I really feel like I’m at home.”
Jeter led the Yankees to five World Series titles and was a 14-time All-Star in a 20-season career that ended in 2014. He was inducted into the Hall at Cooperstown after being picked on 396 of 397 ballots.
Jeter’s No. 2 was retired by the Yankees during a ceremony in May 2017, when a plaque honoring him was unveiled in Monument Park. He was CEO of the Miami Marlins from September 2017 to February 2022
Ex-teammates CC Sabathia, Tino Martinez, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera were each announced individually, followed by Jeter’s former manager and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Torre.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
RAYS 4, YANKEES 2: Wander Franco made a smashing return with three hits, and the red-hot Rays further closed the gap on the floundering Yankees with a win that cut New York’s once-robust American League East lead to 3 1/2 games.
Better for the Rays (77-58), who on July 10 were in third place and 15 1/2 games back, they are just two games behind the 83-56 Yankees in the loss column.
The Rays haven’t been this close to first place since May 9, when they were three games back. They haven’t had this many of their key hitters together in the lineup since then either.
CUBS 4, GIANTS 2: Drew Smyly allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings and Yan Gomes and Nico Hoerner homered in Chicago’s victory at home over San Francisco.
Smyly (6-8) struck out eight and walked two. The left-hander departed after Austin Dean reached on a fielding error to start the eighth.
Gomes lofted a two-run shot to left center in the second to give the Cubs the lead for good. Hoerner had a two-run flare off Yunior Marte in the sixth to help end a two-game skid and send San Francisco to its fifth straight loss.
PIRATES 8, CARDINALS 2: Oneil Cruz finished a home run short of the cycle, and Pittsburgh won at home to keep St. Louis from stretching its lead atop the NL Central.
Cruz had a two-run triple, a double and an RBI single to extend his hitting streak to six games, matching the rookie’s longest in the majors. The 23-year-old is 12 for 26 (.462) with two homers, two triples and two doubles during the streak.
Albert Pujols entered as a pinch hitter for the Cardinals and went 0 for 2. The 42-year-old remained at 695 home runs with 23 games remaining in his final big league season.
METS 6, MARLINS 3: Pete Alonso hit his 33rd home run but New York could not erase an early deficit and lost in Miami.
New York, which began the day clinging to a half-game lead in the NL East over Atlanta, squandered a pair of good scoring chances by grounding into double plays.
The defending World Series champion Braves played later in Seattle, looking to take sole possession of first place for the first time all season. The only day this year the Mets did not hold at least a share of the division lead was April 11.
PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 3: Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto hit solo homers and Noah Syndergaard pitched well enough into the seventh inning to keep Philadelphia in playoff position with a 5-3 victory over Washington in Philadelphia.
Phillies reliever Brand Hand failed to earn a save in the ninth when he put two runners on and was pulled for Nick Nelson with two outs. Nelson retired .188 hitter Riley Adams on a grounder to earn his first save in the majors.
The Phillies entered with a grip on the third wild-card spot and each win moves them closer to their first playoff berth since 2011. Bryce Harper got the night off, but even that was OK because the Phillies have Edmundo Sosa. Sosa tripled and scored in his first at-bat and singled in the fifth, marking eight straight times he had reached base, with a home run, double, walk, home run, single, double, triple, single over three games.
BLUE JAYS 4, RANGERS 3: Bo Bichette homered for the fifth time in the last four games, Danny Jansen hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning and playoff-contending Toronto won in Arlington, Texas, when top Rangers prospect Josh Jung hit a home run in his first career at-bat.
Bichette’s 23rd homer was a two-run shot in the third inning that put the Blue Jays up 3-0. He also drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder in the first.
After the Rangers tied it at 3 on Corey Seager’s RBI double in the eighth, reliever Jose Leclerc (0-2) issued a leadoff walk in the ninth. Raimel Tapia then stole second base, went to third on a long flyout and scored on Jansen’s hit.
ASTROS 4, ANGELS 3: Jeremy Peña hit a solo homer and Chas McCormick had a two-run shot in the seventh inning that helped Houston to a win at home.
The Astros trailed by one entering the seventh when Trey Mancini led off with a single. McCormick then connected on his homer off Andrew Wantz (2-1) to put Houston ahead 3-2.
The Astros added an insurance run in the eighth when McCormick drew a bases-loaded walk off José Marte.
TIGERS 10, ROYALS 2: Eric Haase hit wo solo homers, Jeimer Candelario had a three-run shot and Detroit in Kansas City, Missouri.
Haase opened the second inning by blasting Daniel Lynch’s second pitch 444 feet to the seats above the left-field fountains for his seventh consecutive hit.
One out later, Candelario hammered his team-leading 13th homer of the season 445 feet deep to left for a 4-0 lead.
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