Opening Day: The biggest rule changes for the 2023 MLB season
Jack Birle
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It’s a beautiful day for baseball. Major League Baseball‘s opening day has arrived, and for the 2023 season, the league has made several changes to the game.
Here is a look at the biggest rule changes to the game that MLB has implemented in the offseason.
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Pitch clock
One of the most controversial changes, the pitch clock, will now restrict pitchers to 15 seconds to throw a pitch if the bases are empty and 20 seconds if there is a runner on base. Hitters must be in the batter’s box before the clock hits eight.
If a pitcher does not throw a pitch in the required time, it is an automatic ball, whereas if a batter does not get into the batter’s box in time, a strike will be called. For a pitcher, the penalty is enforced if he has not begun his pitching motion by the time the clock expires.
The pitch clock is the most high-profile change and is part of the MLB’s efforts to speed up the game, as the average length of a nine-inning game has ballooned from two hours and 49 minutes in 1992 to three hours and three minutes in 2022.
Base size
Another modification for this season is the size of the bases, making them 18 inches instead of the previous 15 inches. The change is part of an effort to reduce injuries with collisions when runners are sliding onto the base.
Shift rule
As part of the new rules for the 2023 season, teams will now be required to have a minimum of four infield players lined with “both feet completely in front of the outer boundary of the infield dirt” and may only have two infield players on either side of second base.
The rule change eliminates the “shift” for infield players in which teams would move players to one side of the field in an effort to catch a hit more easily.
Position player eligibility for pitching
This rule change modifies the margin for when a team can put a position player in as a pitcher.
The new rule specifies that teams may only put a position player in at pitcher if they are losing by eight or more runs, or winning by 10 or more runs, in the ninth inning or in extra innings. Previously a position player could be put on the pitcher’s mound if the team was winning or losing by six or more runs.
Pitch disengagements
Pitchers are now restricted to two disengagements per plate appearance. The MLB rules specify that disengagement includes pickoff attempts, fake pickoff attempts, and timeouts.
A pickoff is when a pitcher throws to a fielder in an attempt to tag out a runner.
The rules say that a pitcher may have a third disengagement without penalty in a plate appearance if he is successful in the pickoff. If the pitcher is unsuccessful on the third disengagement, then a balk is enforced, and the runner is moved to the next base.
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The Washington Nationals began its 2023 campaign in a game against the Atlanta Braves in one of the two 1:05 p.m. games being played on opening day. The Nationals are hoping to improve on their dismal 2022 season, which saw them finish with a record of 55-107, when they were the worst team by record in the major leagues.
The Houston Astros are the defending World Series champions and are set to open their season at home against the Chicago White Sox at 7 p.m. EDT.