TEMPE, Ariz. -- Major League Baseball officially unveiled a series of rule changes for the 2017 season Thursday, two of which will aim to speed up the replay review process.
Under the modifications, managers will now have a 30-second limit to decide whether to challenge a play and invoke replay review. Replay officials will also have a two-minute "guideline" to issue a ruling on a replay review, though there will be "various exceptions."
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Angels manager Mike Scioscia said his concern with the new time limit is that it will give clubs smaller windows to access and review slow-motion footage before deciding whether to issue a challenge on a close play.
"Back at our replay room, like any team, we're limited with the technology," Scioscia said Thursday. "Our issue has been trying to get the super-slow motion, which is going to be much more descriptive of what happened to the play. If we get that in a reasonable amount of time, we'll be fine. But the turnaround of getting that video, getting that feed and getting that footage to our replay guys takes a certain amount of time. Unfortunately, I think we're going to have to make some decisions without [that], just because of where the technology is right now [and] the time that it takes. We're going to have to make some decisions without the best information."
In the past, Scioscia said umpires didn't enforce a strict time limit for challenging plays, giving teams up to 40-45 seconds to weigh the decision.
"If it took longer than that, obviously, the umpires would make you make a decision," Scioscia said. "If it was that inconclusive that it took you that long to make a determination with super-slow motion, you really didn't feel good about anything being overturned, and you would let the game continue. Those are few and far between."
Last season, the Angels challenged 39 plays, which yielded 22 overturned calls, according to Baseball Savant.
Among the other approved rule changes for the 2017 season are the no-pitch intentional walk and a prohibition on the use of any field markings "that could create a tangible reference system for fielders."