New rules coming for MLB, or at least tweaks to existing rules. Pitch Clock with runners on base shortened to 18 secs. Mound visits cut from 5 to 4 Pitcher who warms up on the mound must face a batter....I didn't know this was even a thing. A pitcher who is sent to the mound to warm up between innings must now face at least one batter. MLB says there were 24 occasions last season that a pitcher warmed up between innings and was replaced before throwing a pitch, "adding approximately three minutes of dead time per event." The runner's lane towards first base will now include the space between the foul line and the infield grass. That adds 18 to 24 inches to the runner's lane, which MLB explains "allows batters to take a more direct path to first base while retaining protection from interference." The league notes that some ballparks will be given "limited grace periods granted by MLB due to difficulty in modifying the field (e.g., synthetic turf field)." What to know about new MLB rule changes: pitch clock, basepaths, more