Rob Dibble said he believes new MLB rules were instituted by a man who does not like baseball.
The upcoming MLB season will feature new rules that include a pitch clock, limited pickoff attempts and timeouts, bigger bases and a ban of the defensive shift. The runner starting on second base in extra innings has also been codified as permanent.
Dibble appeared on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me” with Dan Dakich on Friday morning, and was asked if the new rules will actually affect anything.
“No, it won’t, because it’s idiotic,” Dibble said. “You’re taught, and I teach this at the Little League level, and I’m saying Little League very loud, that you pitch in a certain manner, a timely manner, so that your infield stays ready to play defense, your outfield plays defense. They’re ready.
Former MLB All-Star Rob Dibble thinks the new pitching rules are ‘idiotic’. Getty Images
“It’s like basketball. You know, you’re telling guys, get their hands up, be on the balls, and your feet bouncing around. Well, that’s baseball. I always tell my infielders; I scream at them. I don’t care if they’re 8 or 18 that you got to move your feet before every pitch. And so that to say to a pitcher, work, in a timely fashion so that there’ll be more action [is dumb].”
The 59-year-old Dibble pitched from 1988-95 and was a two-time All-Star with the Reds. He believes that Theo Epstein made these rules at the behest of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, whom he accused of not loving the sport.
“I heard what Theo Epstein said,” Dibble said. “It was idiotic. He’s working for Rob Manfred, who doesn’t love baseball like we do, and he’s apologized for being an analytics nerd. He doesn’t need to apologize. I think the game’s fine. I think you can have analytics; you can have old-school mentality. It all works. But when you start hating on the game and saying, ‘we need a pitch clock, we need the pitchers to work faster,’ you know what’s going to happen? Guys are going to throw less strikes and there’s going to be less action.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred MLB Photos via Getty Images
“You want guys to be ready, you want them to concentrate, but you want them to keep their defense involved. So people who don’t know baseball think the pitchers are taking their time out there. Do you think the batters are taking their time out there? They don’t watch baseball. The commissioner has already admitted — I don’t watch baseball. I don’t like baseball. I think the trophy is a hunk of metal. I mean, you’ve got to get a commissioner that understands the game, maybe coached the game, maybe played the game and understand that pitchers are already taught, if taught by any kind of qualified teacher or coach that you work in a timely manner to keep your defense in the game.”