New Rules for the 2023 MLB season

Brody Bohnet, Writer

With the upcoming MLB season, MLB commissioner Robert Manfred announced that there will be new rules for this season, but what are they?

The first rule and probably the biggest one to impact the game is the pitch clock. What is a pitch clock? It is a certain amount of time that a pitcher or batter has to get into the box or throw a pitch. If the pitcher fails to deliver the ball or get into the box, a ball is called. If the batter fails to get into the box a strike is given to the current count of the at-bat, even strike three.

The second rule being implemented into the game is the restricted shift rule. This rule was implemented to hopefully increase the average of balls in play. During the shift last season, you were allowed to put any amount of players on the infield or outfield. This season before the pitch is delivered, four players have to be on the infield and two on each side of the infield.  If the defense fails to follow this rule, the offense can choose to have a ball added to the current count of the batter.

The last major rule added to the game is bigger bases. The reason they made bigger bases was to increase the number of stolen bases in a season. This gives the game more of an electric atmosphere due to more action on the bases.

With these new rules added to the game, it’ll hopefully make the game more exciting and fun to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2023/02/27/mlb-rules-2023-shift-pitch-clock-bases/11358317002/