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This is why we already love MLB's new batter's box rule

David Ortiz has already said he doesn't care for the new MLB rule that says he and his big-swinging buddies have to keep one foot in the batter's box between pitches to help improve the pace of play. No surprise there. Big Papi has his very own pace of play.

But after the first few days of spring training games, The Stew is here to profess that we love the new rule. Not necessarily because it's sped up the game (maybe it will, we'll see, too early to tell right now), but because we've been entertained by players who aren't used to the new rule yet. Like Ryan Howard:

[Baseball is back! Check out Yahoo For Spring Training for great spring training pics.]

While we like Howard's realization that he needs to get back in the box, the best part is when the umpire claps for him. The oh-crap-I-forgot-the-new-rule dance is our favorite thing about spring baseball at the moment. Here's A-Rod, who we can't blame too much, because he has a lot of things on his mind these days.

But by far our favorite batter's box dancer is Edwin Encarnacion. Check out his footwork.

As the new rule goes: Batters have to keep their foot in the box unless one of nine exceptions occur, such as timeouts or wild pitches and passed balls. If a batter violates the rule, he could first be warned by an umpire, but umps can also issue automatic strikes. Flagrant violations could result in fines. 

Maybe ballplayers will get this figured out by opening day. Maybe their new routines will stick. But if not, we won't mind watching their batter's box dances come April.

BLS H/N: /r/baseball and Eye on Baseball

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!