Taiwan's CPBL may shorten pitch timer by two seconds for WBC adjustment

Taipei, Feb. 18 (CNA) Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base.

Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base.

The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers' meeting on Tuesday by Tseng Hao-jiu (曾豪駒), the Rakuten Monkeys' bench and batting coach, and Lin Yueh-ping (林岳平), the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions manager, according to the league's competition affairs department.

The two are also the manager and pitching coach of Taiwan's national team in top-tier tournaments, and had led Team Taiwan to the WBSC Premier12 championship for the country's first-ever major title in a senior-level international baseball competition.

Emulating Major League Baseball's (MLB) efforts to speed up the game, the CPBL introduced the pitch timer in the 2024 season.

It remains uncertain whether the changes will be implemented for the upcoming 2025 season, as some managers noted that spring training had already begun.

For now, the CPBL plans to test the proposed changes during official warm-up games starting on March 12 before making a final decision in a subsequent meeting.

The league indicated it is inclined to shorten the timer but has not ruled out postponing the changes until the 2026 season.

Meanwhile, the league announced that franchises will have the discretion to decide game times on weekends and national holidays in the 2025 season.

Previously, games on these days were scheduled to start at either 2:05 p.m. or 5:05 p.m. This season, games may also begin at 3:05 p.m. and 4:05 p.m.