2023 MLB RULES: SOME ARE NEW AND SOME REMAIN
Between shift bans, extra innings, pitch clocks, and more, when should we as fans become truly concerned?
I’ve always been someone who believes in the concept of ‘Don’t fix what’s not broken’. That is not to say that some things don’t need tweaking. With baseball, there are always minor changes that can be made to make the game better for all; including, perhaps most importantly, the fans. The problem is, if MLB keeps going down the path they are heading, then baseball as we have always known it, will be over. It’s not panic time yet, but I do worry about how much MLB is willing to give up to appease “The New Generation Of Fans”.
Major League Baseball can change this game however many times it wants. It could be completely unrecognizable to the older baseball fan, just to make the youngins happier. BUT (Reality Check), in the end, even if it’s the most exciting baseball experience of their young lives playing out right in front of them, many will still be on their cell phones for three-quarters of the time thinking about anything but the game itself. Not all of them, but many. I ask that MLB stops trying to overhaul so many good things about the game when there are only a few moderate adjustments needed to be made here and there to appease both sides.
There are six main changes since 2020 that I want to talk about and, technically, one of them is off the field. A few of them deal with what initially started as COVID health protocols to “keep the players safe” by spending fewer hours at the park. Understandable at the time. However, I remember saying to a few of my friends when some of these rules were put into place that this was MLB’s excuse to try out these new regulations in hopes that they become permanent.
Below is my list from the ‘Most Aggravating’ to ‘Least Aggravating’ changes that have been made and are staying for 2023 and beyond. I am using a scale of 0-10. 0 being not aggravating at all. 10 meaning completely unnecessary.
TIEBREAKER ‘GAME 163’ IS FINISHED
Aggravation Scale: 10
This is technically my “Off-Field Aggravation” because it’s no longer something that will happen on the field, and it’s a damn shame. I was thinking about this one as I was making my Rules Aggravation Ratings and at first, I had this as a 9, meaning, Ridiculous, but I’ll live with it. But, in reality, I can’t be that dishonest with myself. This is the most unnecessary change that Major League Baseball has put in its rulebook.
Let’s start with the great Tiebreaker ‘Game 163’ moments we’ve had in history. Some of the most memorable games of all time took place during these extra contests, and now, MLB is going to use a computer to decide all standings tiebreakers, no matter if they are for a division crown or a wild card spot, as they did last year with the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the NL East. Both teams won 101 games. I know that the Braves stormed back from 10 1/2 behind in June to capture this division, and swept the Mets in the second to last series of the season, but there is just something wrong with the system if they can’t play an extra match to decide the ultimate champion after 162 games.
This isn’t the NFL where you play less than 20 contests in the regular season. If you tie for a division or wild card spot after 162 matches, then settle it where it should be settled…On the field. It’s never been an issue in the past, so why is it one now?
Worth noting: The winner of last year’s NL East division also received a BYE to the NLDS. New York ended up finishing second to Atlanta because the Braves had the better Head-to-Head record (10-9). The Mets lost the Best-of-3 Wild Card Series to the Padres.
I understand that baseball wanted to expand its playoff field to 12 teams and make the Wild Card Round a Best-of-3 instead of a one-game, winner-moves-on situation as they have had since 2012. I was all for that, but can’t wrap my mind around why it is such an issue now for two teams tied for an important playoff spot, to play just one more time the day after the season ends. The playoffs never start on the Monday after the regular season ends. Have the game then.
It’s about memories. There apparently will be no more Bucky Dent moments, like we had in 1978 with the AL East Tiebreaker between the Yankees and Red Sox, or the Colorado Rockies’, Matt Holliday, sliding home on a close call at the plate to win the 2007 wild card tiebreaker game, 9-8, over the San Diego Padres. MLB is telling us that those things don’t matter anymore. That somehow fans don’t want to see a game 163? Nonsense, and about as aggravating as it gets for me.
‘THE MANFRED MAN’ STAYS FOR EXTRAS
Aggravation Scale: 9
Maybe I’m being a little too harsh in my rating and too old school in my thinking, but for Rob Manfred to say that this rule and others were not going to be permanent in 2021, and then, suddenly, they stayed put in 2022 because of the season starting late over labor disputes, and now in 2023 staying indefinitely, is sad to see. The lame theory that games could become never-ending marathons, is the main reason that the league has decided to keep the rule that a baserunner will start on second base in extra innings during the regular season.
“These rules were adopted based on medical advice,’’ Manfred said. “Those are less likely they will become part of our permanent landscape. It was a COVID-related change." -2021
Sure, Rob.
I don’t want to spend too long on this because the thought of it reminds me that the season is about to start and every game over the last few years that has gone to extra innings during the regular season, has made me cringe because it’s a flat out unnecessary prop by MLB to create action unnaturally so that the players and fans aren’t at the park for hours on end. I thought the pitch clock was going to help with that this year, but I guess that is not enough. Read on for more on the pitch clock later.
Here is a breakdown from 2019 about extra innings games courtesy of fangraphs.com. I’m going to give the main numbers and you decide if these pre-2020 games were such a big deal that they needed to change the system.
2019:
Regular Season Games Played: 2,429
Extra Innings Games: 208 (8.6% of all games played)
Extra Innings Games ending in the 10th inning: 95
Extra Innings Games ending in the 11th inning or later: 113, with 57 of those ending in the 11th. This leaves 56 games that went to the 12th inning or longer.
Final Extra Innings Number to think about: 97.7% of all games in Major League Baseball ended in the 11th inning or earlier.
New York Yankees TV play-by-play announcer, Michael Kay, visited the ‘First Take’ set on ESPN earlier this month and was asked about the new rules. I agree with him completely on his first take. Just watch the first minute and he explains why the extra-inning rule is not needed.
It goes back to what you as a fan will remember after watching the game. If it goes 20 innings, you will never forget it, because that is rare air. With the new rules, I don’t ever see us talking about that classic extra-inning game again, unless it’s in the playoffs. I still remember vividly last year’s two classic postseason extra-inning games.
There was the Cleveland versus Tampa Bay Game 2, 15th inning walk-off homer by Oscar Gonzalez to win the series for the Guardians, followed by the Houston and Seattle classic Game 3, settled by a Jeremy Pena solo homer in the 18th. Both games were memorable and won naturally without the gimmicks we now see during the regular season.
In fairness, this is just one fan’s opinion. Many like the current extra-inning rule and that is fine. Personally, I would have settled for somewhere in the middle. Maybe let the game play out for 12 innings and then starting in the 13th, go with a runner starting on second base.
PITCH CLOCK
Aggravation Scale: 5
The ‘Game 163’ and ‘Manfred Man’ aggravations were the two I needed to rant about. I apologize for going on and on about them, but for the next four lesser aggravations, I’ll keep them as short as I can.
I’m on the fence with the pitch clock rule until we get to see it in action during meaningful moments for a few months. It could end up being great or it could ruin a lot of close game endings. What we know for sure is that as of Sunday, March 19th, the average spring training game this season has been 26 minutes less than the average spring contest in 2022. The main purpose of the clock seems to be doing its job, which is to keep the game moving. Give it a good pace without all the in-between stuff we’ve always dealt with. I get that part of it.
The pitch clock rule in its most basic form is as follows: Pitchers have 15 seconds to make a pitch with the bases empty and 20 seconds if men are on. If they fail to do so, there will be an automatic ball added to the count. As for the batters, they will need to be in the box by the eight-second mark or there will be an automatic strike added to the count.
It sounds straightforward, but if I’m an umpire, I’m taking all the migraine meds I can before and after each game, because I think, especially once games become meaningful in the regular season, they are going to be using their discretion quite often to decide many of these penalties. It’s not going to be an obvious call all the time. The pitcher has to begin his motion before the clock runs out and the umpires have to be watching. Being tenths of a second late could lead to a penalty as we’ve seen in spring training. Players, managers, umps, and fans are going to get upset. At the very least, it will be entertaining to watch.
There is a whole lot more to the clock and when it begins, who gets breaks, including catchers and fielders if they have to run a long way to make a play. Umps will have to keep track of how many timeouts each batter has used. As an example of how complicated this is, just read the following rule. I think your head will spin. At least mine did on the first read-through.
Batter Timeouts
“The umpire will determine that a batter has used his one timeout whenever the batter steps out of the batter’s box after entering the box and becoming alert to the pitcher. Accordingly, if the batter has already used his one timeout during a plate appearance and then subsequently steps out during the same plate appearance, the umpire will assess a Pitch Timer Violation (automatic strike). The only exception to this rule is that a hitter who steps out of the batter’s box with more than 8 seconds remaining on the Pitch Timer will not be deemed to have called his timeout, provided that the pitcher is not engaged with the rubber at the time the batter steps out of the batter’s box. If the batter steps out of the batter’s box in this situation, the clock will continue to run and the hitter must return to the batter’s box and become alert to the pitcher with at least 8 seconds remaining on the Pitch Timer.
“If a batter uses his timeout and is replaced by a pinch hitter later in the plate appearance (e.g., in the case of an injury), the pinch hitter will not receive a timeout.”
That is my overall point with the clock. If the rules are that complicated on paper, then they probably will be for the players and umps trying to follow them on the field of play. Make it simple. Unfortunately, that is not what MLB is choosing to do. From everything I have read, all of these on-field rules can be tweaked during the season. We’ll see what happens. I’m sticking in the middle with a 5 on the scale right now with this one, but the number could and probably will fluctuate throughout the season.
SHIFT BANS
Aggravation Scale: 2
This is a simple-sounding rule: At the time a pitch is thrown, all four infielders are required to be on the infield dirt or infield grass with two on each side of second base.
In other words, the game is going to look more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. There will be more knocks from the left side of the plate by pull hitters and this should create a lot of action around the bases with more non-homer hits.
Of course, there have been teams already trying the left fielder to center field spot while the center fielder moves into shallow right field, literally leaving the entire left side of the outfield open for business. Look, it’s already bad enough that most players don’t know how to bunt properly. It’s pretty lame that certain lefties weren’t able to adjust to the crazy shifts we have been seeing for years now, by going oppo.
In the end, if this rule doesn’t help those players who struggle to hit the ball the other way, and if some teams place their center fielder in shallow right, I’m not going to whine if that batter can’t figure out how to bloop it over the third baseman’s head for an easy double at the minimum. The only reason this is a 2 on my scale and not a 0 is that it never should have come to the point where a professional player can’t hit to the other side of the field once in a while.
PICKOFF LIMITS
Aggravation Scale: 1
According to this rule, pitchers can only disengage from the pitching rubber to attempt a pickoff throw or for a timeout. The pitcher will get a maximum of two disengagements per plate appearance unless the third disengagement is a successful pickoff move. If not, it’s an automatic balk.
I like this rule. If it creates more excitement on the base paths, I’m all for it. This could be a fun cat-and-mouse game to watch between even a below-average runner and the pitcher. What television broadcasts could do now, is always have a camera showing first base on the top right of your screen, so that you can watch the large leads that many baserunners are bound to take. They’ll show it once in a while in a big situation or when there’s high potential for some action, but if there was ever a time to keep that camera rolling for the viewing audience at all times with a man on first, this would be it.
LARGER BASES
Aggravation Scale: 0
Bases are going from 15 to 18 inches. That’s a big difference in a game of inches. It doesn’t bother me one bit if it means more stolen base attempts and fewer injuries. I will say that if more baserunners chose not to slide head first, then there would be far fewer jammed fingers and other upper-body injuries, and this likely would never have happened. I guess that is why I saw Mookie Betts wearing his Jordan brand oven mitt during the WBC Championship. He used it with the Dodgers last season as well.
BONUS SEVENTH RULE: POSITION PLAYERS AND PITCHING
Aggravation Level: 0
The new rule only allows position players to pitch in these scenarios:
Extra-innings
In the 9th inning, if the leading team is winning by 10 or more runs
In any inning, if the losing team is behind by eight or more runs
The only part of this rule that stuck out to me, and also caused a bit of a nauseous feeling in my stomach, was the two words “Extra-Innings” because it reminded me about Rule #2 on my ‘Aggravation List’. I don’t want to go to bed aggravated, which is why I am ending this now.
If you got this far, thanks for reading. Tomorrow: AL EAST PREDICTIONS.