Maybe I’m in the minority, maybe I don’t have enough respect or appreciation for “the way baseball has always been played,” but so far I’m a fan of the new Pace of Play Initiatives.

For those unaware, Major League Baseball’s Pace of Game Committee is testing several time-saving measures in the Arizona Fall League this season.

Most notably, is the 20-second pitch clock and the two minute and five second clock between innings.

Three games have been played with the pitch clock in effect and the average time of those games has been two hours and 38 minutes. In fact, that time is even a bit high since one of the three games went 11 innings.

Now, the system is not perfect, the Fall League is not directly comparable to a Major League game and tweaks need to be made, but there is certainly potential and I’m a fan.

Through three games there have only been three pitch clock violations which shows me the players are capable of speeding up the game when prompted.

There have also been multiple occasions when a batter has stood in the box with 40 seconds left on the “innings-break clock” another sign that players can move faster.

I’ve also talked to multiple position players about the pitch-clocks and while they admit it is a bit strange to get used to, they also have said that they like it and can feel the game moving faster.

However, there are also some changes that may need to be made. There are some times where the pitcher, especially if he shakes off a sign or doesn’t get a sign from the catcher right away, looks rushed.

There will also be some changes in the running game as the pitcher can basically no longer simply step off the rubber. Within the allotted 20 seconds the pitcher either has to throw to the plate or throw over to the base. He can’t just step off and look at the runner – unless he hops back on the rubber real quick and throws a pitch.

I expect tweaks perhaps toward the end of the Fall League or maybe in next year’s AFL, but I would not be surprised to see pitch clocks in the MLB in the future.

And assuming they resemble what they’ve looked like thus far in the AFL, I’ll be a fan.

*The Fall League has 14 more pitch clock games scheduled so if things change or if there are any unusual occurrences as a result of the pitch-clock I will certainly write another post and let you all know.