Anthony Fenech

Detroit Free Press

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Changes are coming to baseball.

Major League Baseball and the players’ association today jointly announced a series of rule modifications that will be in place for the upcoming season.

Most notable among them is the elimination of the four-pitch intentional walk and a 30-second limit on a manager’s decision to challenge a play.

Instead of pitchers throwing four intentional balls outside of the strike zone, the “no-pitch intentional walk” will start with the defensive team’s manager signaling the decision to intentionally walk the batter to the home plate umpire. Following the signal, the umpire will award first base to the batter.

An interesting fact: Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander threw the final four-pitch regular-season intentional walk in baseball history, to the Atlanta Braves' Nick Markakis on Oct. 2.

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Both the intentional walk rule modification and the instant replay time limit were implemented in hopes of creating a faster pace of play.

The 30-second limit that drew a response from Tigers manager Brad Ausmus after the team’s Grapefruit League loss to the Pirates on Thursday.

“I’m still a little weary of how the 30 seconds is going to be managed,” he said. “Are they going to have a clock? We gotta know. The manager has to know how much time he has and quite frankly, the guy in the replay booth, (defensive coordinator) Matt Martin, needs to know how much time he has. There’s a little concern as to how that’s going to play.”

The league and players’ association has yet to release details about how the limit will be implemented. One thought is the team could use the pitch clock, which is visible in the stadium, although Martin, sitting in an office underneath the tunnel, would not be able to see that.

“He needs to know how much time he has,” Ausmus said. “I mean, let’s talk replay, let’s say how it is. The manager has very little to do with actually deciding whether a play is challenged or not. Every single manager is listening to the guy that’s looking at it on video.”

The majority of replays, Ausmus said, come at Martin’s discretion.

Where his decision comes in is when, say, it’s late in the game and the Tigers have one challenge remaining. In that case, if it’s a 50-50 call – or if a run is involved – he might take a shot at it.

Also modified today: When a manager has exhausted his replay challenges for the game, umpire crew chiefs may invoke replay reviews for non-home run calls beginning in the eighth inning, instead of the seventh inning.

This will force Ausmus – and Martin – to make tougher decisions on what to challenge.

There is a two-minute guideline for replay officials to render a decision on a replay review, with various exceptions.

Other rule modifications include the prohibition of any markers on the field that could create a tangible reference system for fielders, and an amendment to Rule 5.03, which requires base coaches to position themselves behind the line of the coach’s box closest to home plate and the front line that runs parallel to the foul line prior to each pitch -- when a ball is put in play, a base coach is allowed to leave the coach’s box to signal a player as long as the coach does not interfere with play.

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Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.