Adjust pace of play rules for MLB postseason? Don't mess with a good thing

The pitch clock is the greatest thing that has happened to Major League Baseball in decades, having trimmed nearly 30 minutes — most of it inactive time that nobody should lament missing — off of the average nine-inning game from last year to this one.

Nine-inning games that once felt interminable and routinely clocked in at more than three hours are now clocking in at just a shade over 2 hours, 30 minutes. Fans almost unanimously have said they love the improved pace and shorter games. Players, broadcasters and executives have largely hailed pace of play initiatives as well.

So in response to all that good will, the Major League Baseball Players Association now wants to ... alter the rules for the most important and watched games of the season?

That's the short way of viewing news this week that the MLBPA is in favor of softening or tweaking the rules around the pitch clock for the postseason — something I talked about on Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast.

Now, there is a little more nuance than that.

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark told reporters Tuesday that players are suggesting the potential for minor adjustments like pitchers being allowed to disengage from the rubber more often or batters getting more than one chance to call time out per at bat in higher-leverage games.

"There are adjustments that can be beneficial," Clark said, which seems reasonable on the surface.

But he also said this: "I don't think a few seconds here or there is going to create a 3½- to 4-hour game."

And that's where I have to disagree. Because a few seconds here or there is exactly how baseball games ended up dragging on, necessitating the rather dramatic pace of play rules like the 15-second pitch clock this season.

In the postseason, the commercial breaks are already longer than they are in the regular season — a length of game issue more than a pace-of-play issue, but something that will automatically make games longer in October.

Add on even more time to games through amended rules, and the gains baseball made this year will feel marginalized in the playoffs.

So I agree with the league on this one.

"In general, I think you ought to play the postseason the way you play the regular season," Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters. "We are comfortable the way the clock and the violations — particularly late in the game, in high-leveraged situations — have been managed."

It would be a shame to see a postseason game impacted by a pace-of-play violation. It would be a bigger shame for baseball to revert back to its old ways.

Here are four more things to know today:

*Manfred also had some definitive comments about the future of regional MLB broadcasts, which is of particular interest to Twins fans.

*NBA coaches will be allowed a second challenge next season if their first challenge to overturn a call is successful. That's a good change that should help teams ask for replays of obvious errors early in games.

*Luis Arraez has had an amazing season, but let's put an end to the "chasing .400" talk. By my rough calculations, given the same amount of playing time after the break, Arraez would need to hit about. 425 the rest of the year to crack .400.

His terrific pre-break .383 average is almost 70 points higher than his previous career average and more than 40 points lower than what he would need to hit the rest of the way. It's more likely to me that he finishes below .350 than above .400.

*Listen to Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast for a breakdown of the Timberwolves' offseason and an early look at what their rotation might look like in the coming year.