Caitrina Mullally '25
Baseball is one of the most popular sports in America. Major League Baseball was organized in 1876 and continues to thrive today. Not only is it a fun sport to play, but it is entertaining and brings millions of people together.
However, this 2023 season has undergone many revisions to the game. These changes have affected the players, coaches, and the viewers.
The biggest adjustment would probably be the pitching clock. It has affected everyone in association with the game. The pitching clock is 20 seconds long when there is a runner on the base. If all bases are empty they only have 15 seconds.
The pitcher and the batter need to make eye contact by the 8 second mark. Then, the pitcher just has to throw it before the time fully runs out. This cuts down so much time on the game. Before this, there was no timer for the pitcher and this would let the game run very long.
Last season and all the seasons before, games averaged about 3 hours and 3 minutes. The new pitch clock has cut this down to 2 hours and 37 minutes, making a huge difference on the game all around.
Toni Fichter, a 10th grader bonnie who is a huge New York Yankees fan said, “I watched the Yankee game against the Twins about a week and a half ago and I could not believe the time difference; the game was so short.”
A change that mainly affects the players is the rule of infield players not having the ability to shift to any other base. So if you are playing second base or shortstop, for example, you cannot move to the other side of second base in “an extreme shift” – a defensive move typically done to take hits away from pull hitters. The outfield players, however, still have freedom to move around the field. This rule change should result in more hits.
The size of bases have been increased from 15 inches to 18 inches. This will decrease the amount of injuries made off the base and increase stolen base attempts. It supposedly will also add more action and athleticism into the game.
These alterations are definitely an adjustment for the players, coaches, and fans of baseball. However, they seem to be beneficial and make the game more enjoyable.
Hopefully, this sport that has been with America for 140+ years will continue to thrive as more generations take on baseball. 2023 is a new year for baseball.
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