Are The Rule Changes Good For Baseball?
Baseball season is upon us….finally! We are in full swing and a month in and to be honest I was a little apprehensive to see how these rule changes were going to impact the game that I love so much. I’ve always been in the camp of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. However, folks seemed to think that the games were too long so enter the rule changes!
For those that don’t know there were three major rule changes that the MLB put in place starting this season. There is a pitch clock that limits the time between pitches that a pitcher and batter have to abide by. The defensive shift is no longer legal and the size of the bases are bigger. All of these rules were put in place in order to improve pace of play and to encourage offense but are they good for the game? To be honest, I don’t hate them.
Let’s talk about the major ones first. I honestly thought that the pitch clock would be a bigger issue. Now mind you, there are some veteran pitchers that are having a hard time adjusting but for the most part I actually enjoy this rule. The hitters can’t adjust their batting gloves or any number of rituals that we are used to seeing and pitchers can’t take forever in between pitches. But what I love the most or I should say appreciate the most is that when watching on tv the pitch clock isn’t distracting on the screen. As far as the outlawing of the shift, I am a huge fan of this. We are seeing more base hits which leads to more runs. Even though I am a fan of a good pitchers duel, I do enjoy seeing the ball in play more often.
One part of the game that has kind of gone by the wayside lately is the stolen base. There is also a rule that limits the amount of times pitchers can attempt pick offs. Add that to the size of the bases and the outlaw of the shift, we are seeing stolen base numbers skyrocket as compared to previous years. I believe this is good for the game just because we are seeing movement on the field. Players are pressing the issue and forcing the action. Add on top of that we are seeing players that aren’t thought to be base thieves, stealing bases. How awesome is that!
If you know me well, you know that I consider myself a baseball purist. I don’t normally don’t like it when things change to the game that I love but I don’t mind these changes. I agree that it does increase the pace of play and doesn’t really take away from the game. I think time will tell how these rules will really affect the game but I have a very good feeling that in a couple more weeks we really won’t notice them at all.