Baseball's on the Clock ... Kinda

Mike Hargrove's day has come and gone.

If anyone had earned a nickname, it was him.

Dude was known as the Human Rain Delay.

Suffice it to say he took every one of his plate appearances seriously. As well a batter should, getting only four or so per game. And Hargrove's pitch-by-pitch approach had to be just so:

But now that's going the way of the dodo bird.

It's a new day in the MLB.

As of the second month this season, batters have to stay put ... for the most part.

• Batters must keep one foot in the box unless he gets dusted, takes a cut, or watches a pickoff attempt.
• Pitchers must finish warm-ups 30 seconds before a commercial break ends, which gives them two minutes and change, depending on whether the break is for a regional or national network.
• Managers must park their patooties in the dugout for challenges but gets a second one in tie-breakers and post-season games.

Upon further review, sorta cheesy. As in Swiss; lotsa loopholes. But the penalty is definitely 21st century: first a warning, then a fine. No real effect on the game. Nominal effect on the bank balance.

Maybe players will realize that every pitch is not Game 7 of the Series. Curious to see how concessions sales fare. The guessing is neither of these will change very much. After all, there's already a 12-second rule on the books that's never been enforced, and nobody's been all that bothered about it.

Until now. So what happens? They're gonna experiment with a 20-second rule at the AA and AAA levels.

Gotta love this game.