Baseball is testing out a series of new rules in an effort to speed up the game. They're trying them out in some off-season minor league games...and if they work out, they could be instituted at the major league level.

The most interesting one is a "shot clock"-like timer, which would limit pitchers to just 20 seconds between pitches. The clocks would be set up in each dugout, and in the outfield. If the pitcher fails to pitch in time, the umpire could call a BALL.

Others include: Not having pitchers actually pitch four balls for intentional walks...forcing batters to remain in the batters box between most pitches...and limiting coaches to three trips to the mound.

(ESPN.com has more on this.)

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