c/o John Mincillo; Tommy Gilligan; Reed Hoffman

For many people who are new to baseball, the rules and traditions of the game can be complex and difficult to understand. The new rules that will be introduced for the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) season are designed to make the game more accessible and exciting for everyone, seasoned fans and newcomers to the sport.

The first and most controversial change is the implementation of a timer into every game for the 2023 MLB season. This rule change requires both the pitcher and the batter to be ready to play in a designated amount of time. While the public is more upset about the pitch timer, the addition of timing a batter may have a greater impact on the players. Prior to the 2023 season, a pitcher’s time of delivery was not regulated by the umpire. Some pitchers would take upwards of a minute to throw across the plate, while others would be ready to go as soon as they receive the ball from the catcher. Now, every pitcher must fit their windup within the allotted time. If bases are empty, the pitcher is allowed 15 seconds to get into the motion of their windup. If there are one or more runners on base, a ball must be thrown to the batter in 20 seconds. In both cases, the pitcher must be attentive to the clocks, which are located in the outfield and behind home plate. In the event that a pitcher fails to start the motion of their windup by the time the clock hits zero, the umpire behind the plate adds a ball to the count, and the clock resets. Pitchers will have the ability to disengage from the mound twice per at-bat, in case they want to check on a baserunner or step off and reset their pitch signaling device.

The batter’s clock is more straightforward. During an at-bat, a batter has until the pitch timer reaches eight seconds left to be back in the box ready to hit. Otherwise, the behind-the-plate umpire penalizes them with a strike in the count. Batters in the MLB tend to have long and habitual routines when coming up to bat. In some cases, the batter may try to get inside the head of the opposing pitcher, or get into a groove at the plate, and might forget about the clock. The MLB included the rule changes in their spring training games, which started two weeks ago, and they have already been game-changing decisions. In one of the first games of Spring training, the Boston Red Sox played the Atlanta Braves. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with bases loaded and a full count, the home plate umpire called the Braves second baseman out on strikes because he was not in the box and ready to hit with enough time remaining on the pitch clock. This violation resulted in a tie, an ending that only occurs in spring training games.

Another rule change that will alter the game is the removal of the infield shift. Before the 2023 season, infielders’ and outfielders’ positions were not regulated. They could move to different areas of the field depending on the hitter that their team was facing. If they knew that the hitter had a strong tendency to pull the ball toward the first base side of the diamond, a coach could tell their players to abandon their current position and move to the side where the ball would come more frequently. With the addition of this new rule, only the four infielders can be touching the infield dirt when the pitch is thrown. On top of that, two infielders need to stay on each side of second base when the pitcher’s windup is in motion. These rules make it so situations such as five or six infielders, four outfielders, and three or more infielders on one side of the diamond are no longer possible. The MLB believes that these rules need to be applied to the game to allow players to not be penalized for hitting the ball in a spot that is artificially filled by a fielder that would not otherwise be there for other hitters. Some byproducts of banning the infield shift could be a higher amount of hits, a lower amount of strikeouts, and games with more runs scored.

Finally, the MLB has decided to increase the size of the bases. This rule would act as a preventative measure to decrease the number of injuries that occur over the course of a season. The size would go from a fifteen-inch to an eighteen-inch square. Players may steal bases more frequently now that the distance between the bags is shorter.

All things considered, I like these changes and what they stand for. The new rules are the MLB’s first major attempt at furthering their agenda of improving the pace of play and increasing player safety. Ultimately, only time will tell whether these changes are effective.

Michael Dolce can be reached at mdolce@wesleyan.edu.