Opening day at Fenway on Monday meant more than just the start of another season for the Red Sox. It's the beginning of a new era in baseball, when it comes to one specific rule, and the change is controversial.
Picture a close game, late innings, two outs. There's a runner just on second. That means if there's a hit, there's nobody running his way from first, forcing him to get moving. This is where the pitcher may go for the intentional walk, putting a man at first and creating a potential force out at any base. To do that, traditionally the catcher stands up and holds out his glove, signaling the intentional walk, and the pitcher has to throw four balls, way outside the batters box.
But not anymore. A new rule says the manager can just signal he wants an intentional walk, and the runner can just take the base, without the four outside pitches being thrown.
Asked on opening day what he thinks of the new rule, Red Sox manager John Farrell summed up the reasoning behind it. "It's going to be quicker," he said.
It's one of several ideas Major League Baseball has been considering to pick up the pace of the game, and some fans, like Jim Vuona of Shrewsbury, think that's a good idea.
"I think anything that speeds up the game, because the game's gotten a little slow," Vuona said. "Not so much me, I can still watch baseball, but not enough kids are watching."
"The attention span is very short on kids now, you know what I mean," said his friend, Shawn Carey. "And it's hard for kids to sit that long. So I think it's good."
But in baseball, a game that is steeped in tradition, there's no way this wasn't going to be controversial.
"You know any rule changes in baseball, I'm not a fan," said Sox fan Stevie Pedler. "I'm a traditionalist. You know, I think baseball—they should just let it be."
She understands the desire to cut down on the length of games, but how much time could this save?
"For this particular rule, practically none," she said with a laugh. "But you've got to start somewhere I guess."
Other fans, like Kevin Burns, point out things can go wrong when those four pitches are tossed, which could change the outcome of the game.
"There are too many things that could happen," Burns said. "The guy could throw the ball over the catcher's head, and the guy on second could advance to third."
"I've seen it happen," said John Healey from South Boston. "Or he throws it too close to the plate, and the batter smashes it. And there's another new rule they're trying to adapt for next year and I hope they don't—the extra inning rule."
That rule would put a player on second base at the beginning of each extra inning. "And I don't like it," he said. That idea is still just an idea, but the new intentional walk rule is now in effect.
In the end, there weren't any intentional walks on opening day at Fenway, so it's not clear if the Fenway crowd will greet the change with boos or cheers as they weigh in on this latest battle for the future of America's pastime.
