MLB will test speed up rules in the Arizona Fall League. I like the 12 second pitch rule, and they should place a clock in sight just like in the NFL and NBA. I don’t like the no-pitch intentional walk. I’ve seen too many interesting things happen on IBB pitches to want them to go away. I also have to believe they are a very small part of slowing down the game.
Even though it’s mostly only symbolic, I like the no-pitch intentional walk. I’ve been watching baseball since the 1960s and I’ve seen something out of the ordinary on an iBB exactly twice: when Dick Williams snookered Johnny Bench in the 1972 World Series, and a wild pitch on an iBB at a (meaningless) game at Fenway in 1985. It’s rare enough to functionally equal never.
Wave the batter to first, keep the game moving along.
Jack Spellman » I believe I saw Bo Jackson hit a home run on an intentional ball. Then again, Bo always did something amazing.
Miguel Cabrera once hit a tiebreaking single off an intentional ball.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/24/sports/baseball/24cabrera.html?_r=1&