MLB plans to announce rules tweaks, week before opening day

By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer

MIAMI (AP) — Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock is going to undergo some timing adjustments before it is turned on for games that count. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred called the changes “significant” but also described them as “clarifications” based on input from players. The alterations are likely to be announced Wednesday, eight days before opening day. Baseball’s 11-man competition committee, established in the labor agreement last March, adopted the pitch clock and shift limits last September over the opposition of the four players on the panel. MLB set the pitch clock at 15 seconds with no runners and 20 seconds with runners.