By Chris Kline
February 18, 2005

In an effort to reduce down time and improve the pace of games this season, Minor League Baseball officially has adopted a new batter's box rule, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.

The rule, which was in place on an experimental basis in the Arizona Fall League last year and had already been in place in the NCAA for several seasons, requires the batter to keep one foot in the batter's box throughout an at-bat. Certain exceptions apply, such as a pitcher or catcher calling time. In those cases, the batter must remain in the dirt area surrounding home plate.

Umpires will be able to reward a strike or strikes without the pitcher having to deliver a pitch if the batter intentionally leaves the box and delays play.

"It's an NCAA rule we thought was a good idea, and we thought it would help improve overall pace of game," AFL umpire supervisor Frank Pulli said. "There are certain situations when a hitter is allowed to step out--after big swing-and-misses, or the pitcher steps off the rubber or some type of a time out.

"But once he's in there, they would like to see one foot in, and if he's going to step out, put one foot out and don't get away from the dirt."

The use of the rule was deemed highly successful for keeping an even pace of game among players and coaches in the AFL.

"I like the rule a lot, although I think it's likely to benefit pitchers," said Ivan DeJesus, who managed in the Fall League last season. "The umpires took control of guys in the box and players were well aware of what they could and couldn't do in there. It doesn't speed up anything, but it does allow for more continuous action for fans."

The Major League Baseball Playing Rules Committee announced the adoption of the experimental rule throughout the 2005 season for all affiliated clubs. With the help of several pace-of-game initiatives introduced over the past several years, the average time of a big league game has dropped from 2 hours, 58 minutes in 2000 to 2:47 in 2004. With the use of the batter's box rule, AFL games averaged 2:39 despite the daily high offensive numbers and multiple pitching changes.

"Commissioner Selig remains committed to improving the pace of play in the Major Leagues," Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Sandy Alderson said in a release. "The Playing Rules Committee hopes that the adoption of this rule in the minor leagues will encourage players, as they progress to the majors, to develop and maintain habits that will improve pace of play."