Some Fans React To MLB's New Rule Changes Now That They Are In Effect: 'I Hate It'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the 2017 baseball season begins, keep an eye for a handful of rule changes as one of them has sparked quite a controversy.
Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina will be the answer to the inevitable trivia question. Who was the first MLB player to receive the no-pitch intentional walk?
It happened, in a flash on opening night just as the Lords of Baseball envisioned it. The aim of the new rule is to speed up the game of baseball, but it has already struck a nerve amongst baseball purists.
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Brett Mandel is a baseball author and lifelong fan, and he gave his take on the rule change saying, "I hate it."
"If you're gonna eliminate the routine intentional walk why don't you eliminate the routine throw from second to first or a routine get-me-over 3-0 strike," said Mandel. "Make them throw the pitches, make them play the game."
He doesn't think the rule will have a major impact on games, but the intentional walk is seldom used to begin with, and it only takes about 30 seconds to throw the pitches.
Among the other rule tweaks----managers now have just 30 seconds to call for a replay. The decision will be in their hands for one extra inning, and the replay arbiters will have two minutes to make their decisions. After that umpire crews will make the replay calls beginning in the eighth.
