PHOENIX (AP) — Major League Baseball’s rule-change bonanza of 2023 altered a myriad of the game’s details, including cutting back extreme infield shifts, bigger bases and limits on how many times a pitcher can disengage from the rubber.
But the thing that’s most recognizable is the little pitch clock that is constantly counting down.
“I mean, just looking at kind of the rule changes the past couple years, I think pace of play probably has affected things positively for fans,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said. “I can’t say that’s a guarantee, but that’s kind of what jumps out first.”
He’s not wrong. MLB is enjoying a bit of a renaissance these days with a bump in attendance and TV ratings. Fans, players and the game’s executives are largely in agreement that the new rules have made for a more exciting brand of baseball. It feels like there’s more action, more quick decisions and more drama.
But a deeper look at the statistics shows that an MLB game is basically the same as 2022, except for one key detail.
It’s about 30 minutes shorter.
Turns out baseball games weren’t boring — they were just taking too long. Now that the itching, scratching, spitting and lollygagging have been eliminated, 2 1/2-hour games are actually quite a bit of fun.
MLB’s initial hope with the rule changes — particularly banning extreme infield shifts — was that it would provide an offensive spark. But the league-wide batting average (.243 in 2024, .243 in 2022) and scoring average (4.40 in 2024, 4.28 in 2022) are pretty similar.
The difference is that when all the action is condensed into a shorter time frame, it feels like more is happening. The pitch clock mandates that players have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds with nobody on and 18 seconds if there is a baserunner. The pitcher must start his delivery before the clock expires.
Voila! Baseball is cool again.
“A lot of guys are stealing bags. Guys are throwing really hard,” Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas said. “You have a handful of guys hitting a lot of home runs. I think those are three things that people like to watch.”
The only offensive statistic that’s taken a noticeable jump since the rule changes is stolen bases. But even that is just returning to the levels of the 1980s and 1990s, when speedsters like Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines ran wild.
Still, it has encouraged more guys who weren’t known as speedsters to improve on the basepaths. Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani recently became the first player to have 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. His previous career high was 26 stolen bases.
“The art of stealing a base is being highlighted and lots of guys are adapting and buying into that,” Rangers catcher Carson Kelly said. “For us as catchers, we’ve got to be ready every pitch. Teams are putting pressure on the defense all the time.”
One of the overlooked alterations to baseball is a change that happened in 2020 during the COVID-affected season. MLB mandated that teams would start the 10th inning with an automatic runner at second base, which ended games much more quickly than before.
The faster pace of extra innings was a hit. The rule was extended into the 2021 and 2022 seasons and made permanent in 2023.
“Every game is exciting,” Kelly said. “Especially when it gets late.”
MLB players are notorious for their aversion to change, so the rules package of 2023 was met with a decent amount of blowback. But after 1 1/2 years of a faster-paced games, most players grudgingly admit the changes are more good than bad.
“As players, we’re still adjusting,” Rangers star Marcus Semien said. “The pitch clock has been the main thing. Shorter games are great, but the quality of baseball is important, too. For the most part, guys have improved.”
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AP Baseball Writer Jay Cohen contributed to this report.
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