Major League Baseball (MLB) is back, folks! After an offseason that felt much too long, Spring Training has kicked off over the past few days and has done so in an intriguing fashion. Spring Training will go on for about a month, wrapping things up on March 28 and paving the way for the 2023 regular season to start on March 30.
Coming along with the upcoming season of baseball are multiple new rule changes. These changes will take some time for players and fans to get used to but should improve the game in many ways. Headlining the new rule changes is the pitch clock. Previously, pitchers could be patient when it came to delivering the pitch to the opposing hitters, but now, a 15-second pitch clock will be implemented as soon as the umpire is ready to go.
Batters will also have a tough time adjusting, as they will be called into the batter’s box sooner. San Diego Padres’ superstar third baseman Manny Machado was the first victim of the pitch clock after he took his time to step into the batter’s box in Friday’s spring opener against the Seattle Mariners. As a result, Machado was given an automatic strike. In a Saturday game featuring the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, the game ended after the Braves’ second baseman was late getting settled into the box in a three-ball, two-strike count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Oh yeah, and the bases were loaded, in a tie game. Safe to say, Braves fans were upset. There is no question why this instance caused some immediate uproar, but as the rules continue to be enforced, pitchers and batters will become more acclimated with the pitch clock and fans will see fewer of these automatic ball or strike calls.
Overall, the opening slate of games saw a drastic improvement in pace of play. Previously, it was seen as a miracle if a game ended within three hours, but the first two games of Spring Training ended around the two hour and thirty-minute mark. Albeit exhibition games, the league could be in for a significant decrease in overall time of play, hoping to draw in a larger fanbase. This should be an interesting change to keep an eye on.
The league also banned defensive shifts in the offseason. In previous years, infielders were able to position themselves deep into the outfield or around the diamond to gain a defensive advantage. Now, there will be limitations to defensive positions. Each position is limited to a strict area surrounding their positions, restraining them from going into out-of-the-ordinary positions. The new rule should specifically benefit hitters who pull the ball at an extreme rate. It should open the field for them and give them a better chance at finding open grass and reaching base.
The other two rule changes will look to affect play on the base paths. First off, pitchers will only be allowed two pickoff moves for each plate appearance. Pitchers are always wary of speed on the base paths and on certain occasions, pitchers will use over three pickoff moves within one plate appearance to make sure the runner on base stays put. This rule, like the pitch clock, should also help improve the pace of the game. It can also make the game on the base paths more fun with a larger opportunity for base stealers. That opportunity increases even more with the addition of larger bases this upcoming season. The bases will now be 18 square inches, a three-inch increase from the previous bases used in seasons past. Base stealers will have a slightly increased target to hit when stealing a base, as rules makers hope to make the game more condensed, and action packed.
These changes should make for an exciting first week of the regular season. Many fans were already in awe of some of the games they saw over the weekend, and it’s only Spring Training. Some of these changes might never win all fans over, but they should improve the game overall. The rules worked in minor leagues in 2022, so there’s reason to be optimistic for them in the 2023 MLB season.
