Fans fear new Designated Pitch Runner rule in the majors: "MLB going to be playing Banana-ball within a couple years at this rate"

After the MLB introduced new measures like pitch clocks, larger bases and bans on defensive shifts, some fans feared that their game would never be the same again.

Despite a lukewarm response from players and a few blooper-worthy videos, the pitch clock has not given pitchers the headache that many anticipated.

However, many fans still view the new regulations as encroachments on the way that the game is played. This has understandably given fans a new level of wariness for potential rule changes.

For this reason, many fans did not take very kindly to the news of a new rule being tested in the minor leagues.

The Atlantic Coast League is an independent pro baseball league and the official Partner League of the MLB. Under a new rule being put to the test in the league this summer for MLB observation has been experimentation with Designated Pinch Runners.

"MLB is testing a "Designated Pinch Runner" in the Atlantic league this year! The runner coming out of the game for the DPR could later re-enter without penalty and the DPR could be used again later!" Codify tweeted.

Under the new rules, DPRs can come into the game and run bases for a player who has reached base. This contrasts to traditional baseball rules, which rule that once a player has entered the game, they cannot be used in any pinch situations.

Fans who thought that the pitch clock would pose a threat to the traditional nature of the game predictably laid into the prospect of any such measure being introduced into the MLB, believing that it would render speed an obsolete facet of a complete player.

The notion that players can be used interchangeably would, many feel, irrevocably upset the balance of delicate power between the managers and the strategy that is integral to winning games at the highest level.

For now, the DPR project is just a trial. Major League Baseball has thus far announced no plans to go ahead with anything remotely similar to the Designated Pinch Runner idea.

Do not expect to the DPR in the MLB anytime soon

After a very damaging and very public flirtation with a lockout last year, commissioner Rob Manfred and those who surround him are not looking for enemies. The league has already won big by enacting sweeping game-shortening measures amongst a healthy amount of pushback. It is hard to see a situation coming to a game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox anytime soon.