A few days ago, Major League Baseball Association announced upcoming rule changes for the 2023 season and beyond. It mostly involve three specific aspects of the game. Those include pitch clocks, bigger bases, and eliminating defensive shifts. These are rules that are being added in as a means of trying to add more action in the game along with improving the pace to play. With these rules changes, MLB is hoping to address the two criticisms of the modern age of baseball involving the length and lack of activity of each game in order to make baseball more enjoyable and fun to watch. There are definitely many ways that these rule changes can help the game deeply while also backward spectacularly. Regardless, changes are coming and it’s best to look at each of these three new rules along with seeing how it can benefit and even bite the league in the long run. Let’s take look at each one step-by-step.
1.) Pitch Timer
This one was quite a no-brainer. There have been numerous complaints by fans and players about how the game is always slow because of pitchers who always take their sweet ass time between each pitch they throw. Whether it’s constantly trying to pick-off a runner at first base or second they have no chance of actually picking off, step up the mound right before a wind-up, or having to call time out to make sure they agree on a certain pitch, pitchers tend to always disrupt the pace and flow of the game. With this new rule change, things are definitely going to be speeding up.
Similar to NFL’s play clock, there will now be a pitch clock added in for each pitcher. Pitchers will now be giving a total of 15 seconds to deliver a pitch when bases are empty and 20 seconds whenever there is a runner (or runners) on base. They must motion before time expires and are able to disengage the rubber twice without penalty (the clock will then reset after the latter action is made). Failure to make a pitch in time will result in an automatic ball for the opposing batter.
This rule also will impact hitters as well. To address another common complaint about batters constantly stepping out of the box between each pitch and calling as many timeouts as they want, hitters will now receive only one timeout per plate appearance. They must be in the batter’s box and alert to the pitcher with at least eight seconds remaining before the clock runs out.
This rule has actually already been tested last year with the pitch clock being added down in the Minor Leagues. It’s been reported that it has helped shaved off at least 26 minutes in the average length of a ball game. And many folks who tend to watch numerous amounts of MilB games have responded to it very well, stating that it’s barely noticeable once everyone is used to it.
Between the three rules, this is the one that I believe will have the most positive impact on the game. It might take a while for certain pitchers that have the tendency to slow down and take their time with each and every pitch (*cough* Giovanny Gallegos *cough*) but once the rule starts to make an impact, I think there will be a benefit for everyone involved with an added pitch clock.
2.) Bigger Bases
This one has been a headscratcher for many. This next rule includes making the bases just a tad bigger, increasing the size of first base, second base, and third base from 15″ square to 18″ square. To answer the question has to why this rule change is necessary, it mostly comes down to two reasons.
First, it’s a way of trying to get more action between and during plays. It’s a way to open up old school strategies such as stealing bags, hit-and-run, and perhaps bunting that aren’t used as much anymore because of the consequences of always getting caught stealing or walking right into an easy out. Bigger bases might just allow for things like that to become more frequent with runners being able to get better jumps on the bases.
Second, it’s to help reduce injuries involving baserunning that are far too frequent. Accidents such as stepping on a player’s foot or stepping on the right end of the bag have been caused due to runners not getting as much room to put their foot on the bag. With bigger bases, it gives enough room for the defender and runner to put their feet on the bag to make a play without any potential harm coming to both sides.
I feel like they should have also added in the kind of bases they have in Little League where there’s an additional bag for the runner that’s right next to the first base bag to create a perfect running lane for the runner when going to first. It would have at least cut down on any potential interference calls on the runner for being out of the baseline by giving them their own lane (*cough* Trea Turner *cough*). Otherwise, this rule is mostly implemented for the safety of the players and the possible chance that there may be more open stolen base attempts/hits-and-runs.
3.) Shift Restriction
Here’s the big one! The one that seems to be the most controversial, debated, and polarizing of all of the three major rule changes! The extreme defensive shifts are no more!
There can now only be two infielders on either side of second base when a pitch is made. All four infielders must have both feet strictly on the infield and out of the grass when the pitcher is on the rubber. Infielders can NOT switch side unless there is a defense of substitution.
No more four outfielders. No more having the third baseman at second base. There are now exact restrictions and limitations with how a team can play defense.
The idea of this rule change is as clear as day: to allow more offense. There has been plenty of studies and evidence that has shown how the constant focus on defensive shifts nowadays is taking away a good portion of hitting every season. If a hitter is not striking out for trying to swing for the fences, then they are most likely hitting a grounder or soft flyball that is right into a shift where a player is positioned at a different spot then they are assigned in the lineup card.
Just how many times have we all seen in recent memory a hitter hitting a chopper right up the middle which you think is a base hit but it’s actually an out because it lands right into the glove of a fielder that is positioned perfectly there for some reason? And how many times have we all groaned that something that would have been a hit ten years ago is a sure out now? That’s not even getting into the hitters whose careers took a big hit by being shifted on a extreme basis (Ryan Howard, Matt Carpenter, Joey Gallo, etc.).
There are certainly purists out there that are strongly against this rule, claiming that hitters should learn how to beat the shift instead of being rewarded for their own incompetence. To those people, I’ll say this. If beating the shift was that easy, more hitters would be able to do it.
How easy can it be to try to hit the ball the other way when the pitcher you’re facing is throwing somewhere between 95 to 100 MPH? Sure, you can try to bunt every now and then but that was just get tiresome to a fan real quick. How many times a game would you really want to see a hitter bunt so they are guarantee to get a base hit of some sorts. Defense might win ball games but offense is what gets people to watch them.
No doubt this is the rule change that can change the game for better and for worse. Not just to help get more points on the scoreboard but also as a means of rewarding hitters for being able to put the ball in play. If this works out, perhaps that will open multiple different hitting approaches instead of the usual three true outcomes of home runs, walks, and strikeouts. By being able to have more freedom to hit the ball in big parts of the field without having to worry about a position player being in a completely different spot than they usually are, maybe that will lead to more contact hitters and old-school hitting strategies to make a big comeback on the game. If it does that, then this might just change the game for the better. If not, then this rule won’t mean much in the long run.
It’s too early to tell how exactly this will affect the game of baseball. Hopefully, this find the right mix between action, tension, and pace to play to make most ball games feel like a complete package and not a completely dull slog to sit through. This could also lead to other impactful rule changes such as moving the pitching mound back and switching to electronic strike zones.
We have to wait until next year to find out ourselves but at least there’s an effort from MLB to improve the sport and making it more entertaining.
For more information on the rule changes, here’s a link from an article from MLB.com:
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-rule-changes-aim-to-improve-game-in-2023
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