Gone are the days of second basemen playing well on the far side of the bag to stop right-handed pull-hitters or infielders setting up from the outfield grass.Īs Phillies relief pitcher David Robinson wondered: The new shift ban rule states that all four infielders must be on the infield dirt or grass, with two on each side of second base. Banning the shift in the infield presents another scenario in which players, coaches, and fans alike could all get frustrated. This is one of a few rules meant to decrease game times since MLB contests first began averaging over three hours consistently in 2014. If a batter isn’t in the box at the eight-second mark, his team will be charged with a strike.Īs noted, the average time of a nine-inning game in 2022 was three hours, three minutes, and 44 seconds - down nearly seven minutes from 2021’s record high. In the event that the pitcher hasn’t started his motion to deliver a pitch before the clock expires, his team will be charged with a ball. Batters will need to be in the box at the eight-second mark. The latest MLB pitch clock rules state that pitchers have 15 seconds to throw a pitch with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base. More on that in a moment.įor what it’s worth, there were 216 MLB games that went into extra innings in 2022, down from 233 in 2021. In 2022, game times dropped to three hours and four minutes, though that can be mostly attributed to the pitch clock rule. The fact of the matter here is that the league is trying to bring down game times, though the implementation of these bonus runners had little impact on matters in 2021 when the average duration of games was three hours and 11 minutes, the longest in recorded baseball history. MLB has been quick to cite reducing injury risk - particularly teams who might be wearing out their bullpen - as reasoning for making the change permanent. This rule, implemented in the 2020 season, gives teams a free runner on second base at the start of every necessary inning following the ninth. MANFRED BALL! The league has confirmed that the so-called “ghost runner” rule will remain permanent. Subscribe MLB Rule Changes 2023: The Details The Ghost Runner Rule is Here to Stay We’ll let you make your own assessment on the new regulations - let’s talk MLB rule changes 2023. So, ahead of the new season, which new adjustments are now the law of the land? The NFL instituted new means for increasing the pace of games through play clock tweaks and selective commercial breaks starting in 2017. The NBA implemented take fouls to help speed up games and make them more exciting. The MLB is not the only league to implement such rules to appease (allegedly) a younger generation. Elsewhere, you have others, specifically younger generations, whose attention span struggles to last the duration of a full MLB game in a league that is not immune to struggles as it relates to minting and elevating recognizable stars. Well, depending on who you ask, that’s up for debate.įrom banning the shift to enforcing a pitch clock and beyond, certain real and hypothetical new rules might irk baseball purists - those who take pride in insisting that the game is still truly America’s Pastime, and so forth. Commissioner Rob Manfred admitted during a recent Spring Training media engagement that this would be “the first time since 2019 that we’re going into a season where the focus is on the field and the play of the game,” he said, “which is always where we do our best.” With the 2023 regular season now not so far away, Major League Baseball is shifting focus to its on-field product after an offseason in which teams spent over $3 billion on free agents alone. From the ghost runner to the shift ban to the pitch clock and beyond, let’s talk new on-field rules and regulations in Major League Baseball for the upcoming season.
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