Clark says players against radical speed-up changes

Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, smiles as he sits down to talk with writers after a closed-door meeting with San Francisco Giants players in the clubhouse on his first stop to meet with players from all the MLB teams Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, smiles as he sits down to talk with writers after a closed-door meeting with San Francisco Giants players in the clubhouse on his first stop to meet with players from all the MLB teams Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

By Associated Press February 25, 2015 1 min read

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Major league players are against many of the radical changes introduced during the Arizona Fall League to speed up games.

Baseball players’ association head Tony Clark is encouraging his membership to make slight adjustments that will improve the pace of games without completely altering the way they do their jobs.

A former All-Star first baseman and the first player to head the union, Clark said Wednesday on the first stop of his spring training tour that extreme methods aren’t feasible at the sport’s highest level.

Players agreed to time limits for between-innings breaks and pitching changes, and a requirement batters keep one foot in the box in many instances. But the only penalties will be warnings and fines.

The AFL experiment included a 20-second clock between pitches, a limitation of pitcher’s mound conferences involving catchers and managers, and no-pitch intentional walks.