New Rules for 2023

[Yappi]

Shift restrictions: The defensive team must have a minimum of four players on the infield, with at least two infielders completely on either side of second base. These restrictions are intended to increase the batting average on balls in play, and allow infielders to better showcase their athleticism with great defensive plays.

IMO, shift restriction is the worst rule that I have ever seen by any professional sport. Outside of pitcher and catcher, there are no specific "positions". The 7 defensive players set themselves up where the ball was most likely to be hit. For a century and a half, those spots on the field remained mostly constant. Enter hitters that cannot adjust and need to hit the ball the same way every time, those spots on the field changed. Now MLB has decided that they won't make the hitters get better, rather, they will force the defense to stop playing where they hit the ball. What a dumb rule. Maybe professional football should get rid of defensive linemen because they sack the quarterback too much...

 

[AEW Champion]

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IMO, shift restriction is the worst rule that I have ever seen by any professional sport. Outside of pitcher and catcher, there are no specific "positions". The 7 defensive players set themselves up where the ball was most likely to be hit. For a century and a half, those spots on the field remained mostly constant. Enter hitters that cannot adjust and need to hit the ball the same way every time, those spots on the field changed. Now MLB has decided that they won't make the hitters get better, rather, they will force the defense to stop playing where they hit the ball. What a dumb rule. Maybe professional football should get rid of defensive linemen because they sack the quarterback too much...

The problem is that the pitchers have gotten too good and teams got smarter about where to place players.

It’s hard enough to hit 100 mph fastballs and 90+ mph filthy breaking pitches, much less be able to direct the ball to an empty part of the field. That’s why there’s a proliferation of strikeouts, guys working walks, and then trying to obliterate any mistake pitches.

Putting the shortstop in shallow right field is basically a tactic that would eventually make left-handed non-power hitters extinct, since there’s no value in having base hits to the outfield being turned into outs.

The root of the problem is expanding the roster to 26 and allowing 13 pitchers on the roster. If MLB were to limit active rosters to 11 pitchers, starters wouldn’t be able to go max effort with filthy stuff for 5 innings and call it a night at 90 to 100 pitches. That would quickly destroy a six-man bullpen.

Basically, baseball strategy — from roster construction to placement of fielders to pitching usage — has gotten too smart for the overall health and watchability of the sport. Hopefully the pitch clock helps a bit in regards to pitchers not being able to take 30 to 45 seconds between every pitch in order to max out every pitch.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[Yappi]

The root of the problem is expanding the roster to 26 and allowing 13 pitchers on the roster. If MLB were to limit active rosters to 11 pitchers, starters wouldn’t be able to go max effort with filthy stuff for 5 innings and call it a night at 90 to 100 pitches. That would quickly destroy a six-man bullpen.

If that is the problem, then that is where the fix should come in.

Also, watching people unable to bunt is a travesty. Quit the macho crap and get yourself on base when the defense allows.

 

[Indiandad]

If that is the problem, then that is where the fix should come in.

Also, watching people unable to bunt is a travesty. Quit the macho crap and get yourself on base when the defense allows.

No one gets paid to bunt.

Every kid in the minors knows that if he wants to make the bigs the ball has to go yard... a lot.

 

[LELL]

This why I don’t watch baseball other than the Reds.
Changing the game like this is ridiculous. If they want to speed up the game stop the 6 minutes of commercials between innings. Move those to the beginning, the 7 inning stretch and at the end of the game. But we all know that takes away from their money grab.
Also don’t like them switching balls. It’s home run derby instead of baseball.
Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr, etc would have hit a heck of a lot more with the balls they have now.
Now you can’t even slide to break up a double play or slide into the catcher at home plate!
MLB is not baseball in my book.

 

[Yappi]

No one gets paid to bunt.

Every kid in the minors knows that if he wants to make the bigs the ball has to go yard... a lot.

I'm old school. I would rather look bad and win rather than look good and lose...

 

[Indiandad]

I'm old school. I would rather look bad and win rather than look good and lose...

And these kids would rather make it to the bigs than stay in the minors.

Hit home runs
Throw 95mph+

Get paid.

 

[AEW Champion]

. If they want to speed up the game stop the 6 minutes of commercials between innings.

Commercials between each half-inning are only two minutes. Most of that time is spent by players getting to their positions and the pitcher warming up. Commercial breaks aren’t responsible for the length of games.

Also don’t like them switching balls. It’s home run derby instead of baseball.

The ball has been dead the past couple of seasons.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[Yappi]

And these kids would rather make it to the bigs than stay in the minors.

Hit home runs
Throw 95mph+

Get paid.

I totally understand that. MLB has chosen this path and will live/die by it. Personally, I don't watch MLB anymore. I was a big fan that listened to or watched every game for decades. Stolen bases, bunts for hits, and the occasional home run made the game fun to watch. Now as @LELL said, it's HR derby. IMO, it pales in comparison to the way the game was played for over a century. Interesting that one of the reasons for getting rid of the shift is to "showcase athleticism".

 

[LELL]

I totally understand that. MLB has chosen this path and will live/die by it. Personally, I don't watch MLB anymore. I was a big fan that listened to or watched every game for decades. Stolen bases, bunts for hits, and the occasional home run made the game fun to watch. Now as @LELL said, it's HR derby. IMO, it pales in comparison to the way the game was played for over a century. Interesting that one of the reasons for getting rid of the shift is to "showcase athleticism".

Agree 100% with you Yappi. I’ve bled Reds since I was born. Now I don’t go out of my way to watch the Reds but if they are leading the NL Cent and on and I’m channel surfing and come across the game, I’ll watch a few innings or so. Other than that, I don’t watch MLB. And they haven’t been leading the NL Central these days.

 

[wolves82]

They can say what they want, but the goal of outlawing the shift is simple: more base hits = more base runners = more scoring and excitement.

Will it work? Hard to say, but I think we will still see lots of guys throwing gas, lots of guys swinging for the fences. Thus the same result: Strikeouts, walks, HRs. Yawn.

 

[cjb5656]

Should be a lot of stolen bases too. It won’t take long for the fast guys to time up the pitch clock.

 

[Smarty2022]

The must face 3 Batters rule still a go?

 

[AEW Champion]

The must face 3 Batters rule still a go?

Yes.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[Gardens35]

They can say what they want, but the goal of outlawing the shift is simple: more base hits = more base runners = more scoring and excitement.

...

That is all true, but the funny thing is that more hits, more base runners, and more scoring means longer games rather than shorter games.

 

[Smarty2022]

Yes.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

I don’t believe in the 3 Batter Minimum or Banning the Shift. MLB should having nothing to do with Manager/Coaches decisions.

 

[Sig Hansen]

The pitch clock is great, it should have been implemented years ago. My only concern is that it won't be strictly enforced. The pitch clock was installed several years ago in the minor leagues and it has (supposedly) had a tremendous effect in speeding up the game.
I hope the shift rule works as intended. Something has to be done to increase base hits. The way things are trending, every player will be a three true outcomes guy within a few years.

Bigger bases seem pointless and it doesn't seem like it will have any real outcome on the game.

 

[Crusaders]

Yeah it will take .2 seconds for analytics to get their hands on pitchers' pitch clock tendencies and ruin that as well

 

[cjb5656]

That is all true, but the funny thing is that more hits, more base runners, and more scoring means longer games rather than shorter games.

Yeah, and I don’t recall complaints about the length of the game in the 90”s and early 00’s when the baseballs and players were juiced and offensive numbers were getting ridiculous.

 

[AEW Champion]

Yeah, and I don’t recall complaints about the length of the game in the 90”s and early 00’s when the baseballs and players were juiced and offensive numbers were getting ridiculous.

Games were, on average, still getting completed in fewer than 3 hours back then.

It’s been a steady accumulation over the past two decades of too many pitchers acting like the fate of the Western world is at stake with each pitch.

There are still some quick workers like Shane Bieber and Johnny Cueto, but they’ve been few and far between over the past several years.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[AEW Champion]

MLB makes extra-inning baserunner rule permanent

The competition committee also voted to further limit the use of position players as pitchers.

theathletic.com

Two rule notes linked above:

1. The free runner at second base for extra innings is permanent for regular-season games now.

2. To limit position players taking the mound, teams will only be able to use a position player to pitch when: a) in extra innings; b) you’re winning by 10+ runs in the 9th inning; and c) you’re losing by 8+ runs anytime.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[14Red]

MLB makes extra-inning baserunner rule permanent

The competition committee also voted to further limit the use of position players as pitchers.

theathletic.com

Two rule notes linked above:

1. The free runner at second base for extra innings is permanent for regular-season games now.

2. To limit position players taking the mound, teams will only be able to use a position player to pitch when: a) in extra innings; b) you’re winning by 10+ runs in the 9th inning; and c) you’re losing by 8+ runs anytime.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

Welcome to Nazi baseball. We will make up more and more rules. What a Mickey Mouse rule, the extra innings one. We have more pitchers on rosters than anytime in history and yet we can't find guys to pitch.

 

[AEW Champion]

Welcome to Nazi baseball. We will make up more and more rules. What a Mickey Mouse rule, the extra innings one. We have more pitchers on rosters than anytime in history and yet we can't find guys to pitch.

I think it’s a good rule. Most fans don’t want endless games and aren’t going to stick around at the ballpark or on TV if a game meanders onward for 4 or 5 hours.

And I certainly don’t want the Reds or White Sox destroying their bullpen trying to win 1 game out of 162.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[cjb5656]

I think it’s a good rule. Most fans don’t want endless games and aren’t going to stick around at the ballpark or on TV if a game meanders onward for 4 or 5 hours.

And I certainly don’t want the Reds or White Sox destroying their bullpen trying to win 1 game out of 162.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

I’m okay with the White Sox destroying their bullpen.

 

[14Red]

I think it’s a good rule. Most fans don’t want endless games and aren’t going to stick around at the ballpark or on TV if a game meanders onward for 4 or 5 hours.

And I certainly don’t want the Reds or White Sox destroying their bullpen trying to win 1 game out of 162.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

I 100% disagree. It's hokey and just cheapens the game. Just make the games 7 innings. I'm tired of people complaining about the length of baseball games. We'll sit for countless replays of football and basketball games and no one squalks about that. The main reason baseball is 4 hours is beause there are 3+ minutes of commercials between innings and pitching changes. You cut those in half, you'll have games under 3 hours.

 

[AEW Champion]

I 100% disagree. It's hokey and just cheapens the game. Just make the games 7 innings. I'm tired of people complaining about the length of baseball games. We'll sit for countless replays of football and basketball games and no one squalks about that. The main reason baseball is 4 hours is beause there are 3+ minutes of commercials between innings and pitching changes. You cut those in half, you'll have games under 3 hours.

Plenty of people complain about the length of college football games and its endless barrage of replay reviews. Plenty of those games approach 4 hours these days, which is too much. The difference there is that many college football fans devote most if not all of their fall Saturdays to watching, so they’re not being inconvenienced if a game goes long. And they typically aren’t going into work early Sunday morning. And there are 12 games a year per team, not 162.

If you’re asking for fans to tune in 162 times, your game better be crisply played and your game should respect that people are likely trying to fit watching your product in with the numerous responsibilities of daily life. Asking fans to potentially sit around for 4+ hours daily if your game goes intro extras is not reasonable.

NBA games typically get done after around 2 hours, 15 minutes to 2 hours, 30 minutes. College basketball is around 2 hours or maybe just over that. And there are less of those games than daily baseball. There’s no reason for fans to complain about the length of basketball games.

MLB commercial breaks are 2 minutes between each half-inning, not 3+. Those can’t be cut down on much if at all since the pitcher needs sufficient time to warm up. Baseball games take forever because pitchers and hitters take too long between pitches. Simple as that. That’s why minor league games had 25 minutes shaved off as soon as the pitch clock experiment started. Suddenly games were taking a more palatable 2:30 to 2:45 to play instead of 3+ hours.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

 

[14Red]

Plenty of people complain about the length of college football games and its endless barrage of replay reviews. Plenty of those games approach 4 hours these days, which is too much. The difference there is that many college football fans devote most if not all of their fall Saturdays to watching, so they’re not being inconvenienced if a game goes long. And they typically aren’t going into work early Sunday morning. And there are 12 games a year per team, not 162.

If you’re asking for fans to tune in 162 times, your game better be crisply played and your game should respect that people are likely trying to fit watching your product in with the numerous responsibilities of daily life. Asking fans to potentially sit around for 4+ hours daily if your game goes intro extras is not reasonable.

NBA games typically get done after around 2 hours, 15 minutes to 2 hours, 30 minutes. College basketball is around 2 hours or maybe just over that. And there are less of those games than daily baseball. There’s no reason for fans to complain about the length of basketball games.

MLB commercial breaks are 2 minutes between each half-inning, not 3+. Those can’t be cut down on much if at all since the pitcher needs sufficient time to warm up. Baseball games take forever because pitchers and hitters take too long between pitches. Simple as that. That’s why minor league games had 25 minutes shaved off as soon as the pitch clock experiment started. Suddenly games were taking a more palatable 2:30 to 2:45 to play instead of 3+ hours.

It’s true, it’s true. Trust me …

Go to a minor league or high school games, their pitchers have to warm up too. There is alot of "fat" in major league games that could be easily trimmed away and it's all for.....$$$$.

Only goofy guys like me tune into 162 games and I really don't care how long the games are. I don't watch or listen to the game from start to finish, few people do.
But the bigger thing that sticks in my crawl is the incessant bowing down to players and having them play the games they are paid handsomely. Let's face it, the major reason for this rule is to not use pitchers too much. Yet most MLB rosters carry 12-13 pitchers, 8 of them are relief pitchers and we somehow can't ask a guy to pitch more than a few innings a day. You can't hold a guy or two out as mop up pitchers to pitch in extra inning games? Most teams pitchers that deep in the pen are not that good so runs will be scored. What is the percentage of extra inning games that go longer than 12 innings with the regular rules? It's just weak.

 

[LELL]

And these kids would rather make it to the bigs than stay in the minors.

Hit home runs
Throw 95mph+

Get paid.

Yeah with souped up baseballs. Home run derby IS NOT BASEBALL!

 

[LELL]

The pitch clock is great, it should have been implemented years ago. My only concern is that it won't be strictly enforced. The pitch clock was installed several years ago in the minor leagues and it has (supposedly) had a tremendous effect in speeding up the game.
I hope the shift rule works as intended. Something has to be done to increase base hits. The way things are trending, every player will be a three true outcomes guy within a few years.

Bigger bases seem pointless and it doesn't seem like it will have any real outcome on the game.

Stop using souped up baseballs and you’ll see more hits!

 

[Indiandad]

Yeah with souped up baseballs. Home run derby IS NOT BASEBALL!

It pays. Every minor leaguer knows this.