Red Sox reliever Strahm rips Manfred for 'unnecessary' changes

Boston Red Sox reliever Matt Strahm isn't a fan of the rule changes coming to baseball next year.

Strahm made his feelings known during an interview with WEEI's "The Bradfo Sho" on Friday, ripping into the commissioner's office for not properly consulting with players about the proposed changes.

"They've done a very poor job at getting the clubhouse's opinion or at least listening to it. They did send people around, and it was very well voiced that ... the rule down in Triple-A is not the rule that needs to be here in the big leagues," Strahm said. "The pitch clock, guys were open to it with some alterations, but they didn't even take into account that. They just did what they wanted, kind of like they've been doing for the last eight-to-10 years."

The changes, announced Friday and taking effect next season, were designed to address pace of play issues, as well as create more action during the game by increasing balls in play. The most notable changes include a pitch clock, bans on defensive shifts, and the introduction of larger bases.

The changes were recommended by an 11-person committee featuring six members appointed by MLB, four players, and one umpire. Players voted against adopting the shift ban and pitch clock, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, but the league has the authority to implement any changes without approval from the players' union.

"It's frustrating, 'cause I would be willing to bet 75-to-80% of players were willing to talk pitch clock or have a pitch clock, but the fact that they didn't listen to any input from us players on how to perfect the pitch clock," he said. "And they just kind of rolled with what they had down in Triple-A and said 'here it is, we're going to go with it,' is kind of frustrating. But it's been their track record to just do what they want and disregard the players' inputs."

Strahm saved his most heated words for commissioner Rob Manfred. In addition to being upset about the process, the 30-year-old wondered about the commissioner's true motivation for making the "unnecessary" changes.

"It just seems real petty. I don't know what they're trying to do with this game," Strahm said. "This game has been around for hundreds of years, and people have loved this game for so long, and now to sit here and change it with all these little nitpicking things, it's frustrating.

"My take from the whole thing is it's a joke. From the way it's going, they're doing a pretty good job of killing the sport."