D-backs CEO Derrick Hall talks MLB proposals and more during Fan Fest
Feb 9, 2019, 1:29 PM | Updated: Aug 12, 2019, 10:20 am
Arizona Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall does an interview with The Doug & Wolf Show on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (Matt Layman/Arizona Sports)
(Matt Layman/Arizona Sports)
Arizona Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall opened up during D-backs Fan Fest on changes that the MLB is considering to institute for the 2019 season and beyond.
Hall joined 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug Franz and Dan Bickley on Saturday discussing his disinclination for the universal designated hitter, which he reiterated commissioner Rob Manfred said would not be instituted this season.
“Eventually I could see it happening but it’s one where the players union is just going to push and push and push for that,” Hall said.
He is fond of some of the other changes that were presented to the league.
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“First and foremost, speed up the game,” Hall said. “We keep talking about that. There’s a magic number of three hours you don’t want to be over. You want to start to get down below that.”
Another proposal that Hall supported was early season roster expansion.
“Lets extend in the beginning of the season when guys aren’t really stretched out yet and you actually need another arm,” Hall said.
He also may have spilled the beans on the D-backs schedule in 2020. Hall said the team may schedule a regular season game in Monterrey, Mexico in 2020.
Major League Baseball expanded its international series for 2019, scheduling the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox for a two-game series at Olympic Stadium in London.
The MLB has hosted an international Opening Day game or series seven times since 1999.
CBS Sports reported that the league is considering a series between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals or New York Mets and Washington Nationals for an Opening Day series in London in 2020, as well.
Hall was happy with the D-backs schedule for the start of the 2019 season with the team hitting the road for the first time to start a season since 2014 when they started the season against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Sydney, Australia.
“We used to always pound our fist that we had to open up at home and I completely turned,” Hall said. “I thought no, for the unity, for the camaraderie, for them to actually feel like they are starting the season, it’s hard to go over to Chase Field and turn on that switch.
“When you go on the road, it’s show time.”
The D-backs open the regular season on March 28 in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.
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