Limiting pitching changes, restricting defensive shifts, altering the strike zone and installing pitch clocks are among the ideas Major League Baseball may consider as it undertakes a multiyear review of the game that could include the sport's most radical changes in decades.

Baseball owners were given a lengthy presentation Thursday during their quarterly meeting of how the sport has changed in the last 40 to 50 years. Chief operating officer Tony Pettiti made the presentation with senior vice president Chris Marinak and Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Sometimes baseball fans think about what should happen with the game with an artificial construct, that the choice is between preserving ‘The Game' as it came down originally from the mountain and making some changes to that game,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “The point of the conversation today was that the game has changed dramatically.

“You take a snapshot after 40 years and you say, ‘Here's what it looks like, here's what it used to look like and should we be thinking about what has occurred and whether we want to allow it to continue on the path it's on?'?”

If implemented, some of the changes could be the most revolutionary since the AL adopted the designated hitter in 1973 or perhaps even since the number of balls for a walk was reduced from five to four in 1889.

“We did not and we are really not at the point of making recommendations or having the owners make decisions about what, if any, changes are necessary,” Manfred said. “I think when you have a new administration it's a good time to take a really hard look at the product.”