Rob Manfred now says there will be pace of play changes no matter what in 2018

Just to catch everyone up, here is how convoluted things have become in baseball’s path to the pitch clock:

• In November, news broke that there could be a pitch clock for MLB teams as soon as the 2018 season.
• Shortly after that, the MLBPA and the league were reportedly haggling over how many seconds the pitch clock should last.
• The MLBPA didn’t like what it was hearing, so it decided that the league could implement the changes detailed in the existing proposal without its approval. That loophole allows the league to implement changes as long as it gives a year’s notice. It looked like there would be a clear plan and timeline for the league to follow.
• BUT NO. The latest reports, at the beginning of this month, indicated that the league wouldn’t be pushing through the pitch clock changes — and that the future of the pitch clock hinged on whether the players could shorten games of their own volition.
• Players shortening games on their own is definitely not happening, by the way.

So it looked like there were going to be no immediate changes. Time for the league and the MLBPA to continue to discuss things and hammer out details without the start of the 2018 season pressuring them to make decisions right away.

Well ... apparently that’s not happening now, either. At MLB Media Day, where Rob Manfred held court at the Trop for assembled media, the latest decision is that there will be pace of play changes happening in 2018. With or without the approval of the MLBPA.

So at least that’s clear. Finally.

But wait. Does this completely circumvent the one-year implementation delay? Unclear. Does this include a pitch clock or will it only focus on mound visits, etc.? Unclear. Are the two sides now working off an abbreviated proposal that only covers certain details? Unclear. Has the MLBPA given Manfred permission to implement things this year if they aren’t able to come to an agreement, which then answers the first question on this list? Say it with me now: uncleaaaar.

What Manfred did make clear is that the changes would be announced before Spring Training games start. Which is next week. So everyone just hang out and wait for when that announcement comes. Since apparently baseball games are about to change, and we don’t really know how. Awesome.