Baseball Adapts: Rule Changes for the Upcoming Season
Around this time last year, the MLB announced sweeping additions to the rule book to fix its long-lasting problems. Attendance per game was at its lowest since 1996 (not including the 2020 or 2021 season due to the pandemic) and had steadily declined over the past decade. Fewer people went to the ballpark to watch games in person, and fewer watched games on TV. Only 11.7 million people viewed the 2022 World Series, compared to the average of 30-40,000 people who viewed World Series games in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Even while Albert Pujols chased 700 home runs and Aaron Judge tried to challenge Roger Maris’s record of 61 home runs, people were still not showing up to the ballpark to watch games in person or at home. At this point, the MLB announced three different changes that had been tested in the minor leagues over the past three to four years.
The pitch clock was by far the most influential. The pitch clock reduced the “dead time,” or the time in which no action is happening between pitches, to a minimum. In 2022, an average pitcher took 18.1 seconds between pitches when no runner was on and 23.1 seconds when a runner was on base. However, some pitchers like Yankees pitcher Jonathan Loiasiga or Cardinals pitcher Giovanny Gallegos could take up to 26 seconds between pitches without a runner on base. The slow progression of time between pitches and batters had led to an increase in the length of an MLB game. Last year, the average game lasted 3 hours and 6 minutes. In 2021 and 2020, that number was even higher. The pitch clock aimed to fix these things with a maximum of 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base. This change has worked tremendously, lowering the average game time down to 2 hours and 39 minutes.
One of the other reasons why game time is down is a different stipulation of the pitch clock rule: disengagements. Pitchers and hitters are both limited on the number of times that they take a timeout during the at-bat, or they get an automatic ball or strike added to the count, which is the main deterrent. This allowance had an unforeseen consequence when the rule was added to the minor leagues: an increase in stolen bases. As of September 12, 2023, there have been 3,096 stolen bases so far this MLB season, the most since 2012. Knowing this would happen, the MLB increased the size of the bases as an additional step to aid the change. Although it is only a few inches, in baseball a few inches can mean the difference between an out and a hit.
The third change was to try and ban the shift. While they limited the range that fielders can move before the pitch, it has not affected the game in extreme ways. Yet it has allowed more athletic plays and young stars with plenty of athleticism to show out and make more plays that would not have been possible.
Now, with one regular season down and the playoffs to come, the changes have widely been accepted as improvements to the game. Baseball game times are down, but there is even more action. However, this reduction in game time has led some fans to complain that they don’t have enough time to walk around the ballpark and get concessions, which, while the MLB understands, it is not their job to solve. Another concern was the idea of increasing the amount of time between pitches in big moments and the playoffs when people wanted the reality of the situation to be able to settle in. These players, coaches, and media members, along with fans, called for a small increase of one to two seconds during the playoffs. This way players could catch their breath and fans could appreciate the gravity of the situation.
As it stands, these rules are here to stay. The minors have been testing even more rules that the MLB hopes they can institute into the game within the next few years. One example is the Automated Ball Strike system, or ABS. The system aims to replace the need for human umpires, but the system currently being tested aims to help them. It allows the pitcher, catcher or batter to challenge the umpire's call and get a response in just a few seconds, similar to the system of challenging calls used in tennis. Many current and former players have called for this system, while the MLB is still hesitant to introduce it, insisting that it is not yet ready to umpire in the major leagues.
The playoffs will also be a test for these new rules, as casual fans that tune in for the October classic are introduced to the new pace of play and new brand of baseball played by the top teams. Baseball viewership has increased in almost every important statistical category, signaling that the fans are eager to tune in. Baseball has taken an assent back into one of the largest sports in the United States.
