2023 MLB Rule Changes: Pitch Clock, End Of Shift And More

Change is coming to the MLB! The competition committee of Major League Baseball decided to make rules modifications in September; they will take effect this month, when spring training games start. Throughout the preceding seasons, the lower leagues had all of these laws in effect, which caused significant changes to the play’s tempo and on-field activity.

The first-ever pitch clock, the abolition of the shift, larger bases, and a cap on the number of times a pitcher may leave the rubber are among the new regulations. Here is all the information you want on the new regulations, what they will entail for the players, and how the game will probably evolve.

Check out the new rule changes in MLB –

The shift

The new regulation states that all four infielders must be on the infield grass (or dirt) at the time a pitch is delivered, with two on either side of second base. As soon as the ball is released from the pitcher’s hand, players are free to move. Infielders who started the game on one side of the field were once prohibited from switching to the other side for the duration of the game, but that rule was later changed to just apply during each inning — unless a mid-inning substitution occurs. To put it another way, a player who begins an inning at first or second base must stay on that side of the field for the duration of the inning, however they are allowed to transfer to short or third base.

How it will be enforced: If a ball is hit in violation of the rule and the hitting team reaches base, no penalties are assessed and play continues. The hitting team can choose to accept the penalty, which would add one ball to the hitter’s count, or refuse it, in which case the play would stand if it had any additional consequences, such as an out, a sacrifice, etc.

What they’re attempting to change: In 2022, the league’s overall batting average dropped to.243, its lowest level since 1968. The reduction is mostly due to a lack of singles, with the rate of 5.33 singles per team in 2022 being third-lowest in MLB history and the seasons of 2021 and 2020 filling the two slots above it on the list.

Pitch clock

The new rule: Pitchers will have 15 seconds to throw a pitch with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base. With eight seconds left on the pitch clock, batters must be in the batter’s box.

How it will be enforced: If a pitcher has not started “the motion to deliver a pitch” before the expiration of the clock, he will be charged with a ball. A hitter will be assessed a strike if he waits too long to enter the batter’s box.

Two clocks will be required in the outfield on either side of the batter’s eye, and two more will be needed behind home plate on either side of the umpire in each stadium. Although spring stadiums could only have one clock, they will otherwise be built to the same specifications as MLB ones. The equipment that each umpire will have on them will alert them when the pitch clock has run out. Also, umpires will be able to communicate with one another for the first time away from the centre of the infield thanks to communication devices.

What they’re trying to change: The average time of a nine-inning major league game in 2022 was 3 hours, 4 minutes, which is actually a six-minute decline from 2021’s all-time high — but the time of game has been rising consistently since first crossing the three-hour mark in 2014.

While there is no obvious correlation, 110 pitchers averaged at least 20 seconds per pitch with the bases empty in 2022, according to Statcast’s pitch tempo tracker.

Pickoffs

The new rule: Pickoffs are one type of “disengagement,” which also includes times when the pitcher tries to fake a pickoff, moves off the rubber for whatever reason, or asks for more time from the defence. Pitchers are permitted a maximum of two disengagements each at-bat. If one or more runners advance a base inside the same plate appearance, the disengagements rule is reset.

How it will be enforced: If no offensive player advances a base or an out is recorded on the following play after the third step-off, the pitcher will be charged with a baulk.

What they’re attempting to change: MLB has been concerned with the lack of activity on the basepaths in recent attempts to enhance the aesthetics of the sport, with the number of stolen bases per team falling from 0.66 per game in 2008 to 0.51 per game in 2022. (Stolen base rates were in the 0.75 to 0.80 range in the 1980s and 1990s.)

Bigger bases

The new rule: The size of bases will be increased from 15 inches to 18 inches.

What they’re trying to change: The increase in the size of the bases should reduce injuries around them while increasing stolen base attempts.

Position players pitching

The new rule: Teams will have fewer opportunities to pitch a position player. The sides are debating a change that would require the leading team to be up by at least 10 runs, while the trailing club would need to be down by at least eight runs in order to pitch a position player. The current regulation permitted them to utilise one whether up or down by six runs or more.

What they’re trying to change:  Too many position players are taking the mound during the season, according to the league and now even the players. In reality, players think it’s having an increasing influence on output, including offensive and defensive measures, which are all taken into account during arbitration and free agency. There were 32 games in 2017 when position players pitched. The Elias Sports Bureau reports that this figure increased to 132 during the previous season.

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