Ask for the World, settle for somewhat less:

MLB’s latest pace-of-play proposal, per sources: No pitch clock in ‘18. If games are 2:55 or longer, 18-second clock for ‘19 with no runners on base starting May 1, with ball-strike penalty. If in ‘19 games are 2:50 or longer, additional 20-second clock with runners on in ‘20.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 1, 2018

See subsequent tweets for limits on mound visits and replay limits.

This makes a lot of sense. In my opinion, the pitch clock should only be used with the bases empty, reflecting the actual rule that was in place for a very long time but never enforced. This also puts the onus on the players to speed up the game themselves if they don’t want a pitch clock. It gives the players agency to speed up the game.

The players should counter with, if they get the game below 2:50 in 2018, every one who played in 2018 gets a $500,000 bonus, prorated to days on the MLB roster. If the long term health of the game means playing faster, then the players need to know they are going to get a share of the increased wealth.