Speed Up — Baseball Bench Coach

Opening Day, March 30, 2023, Wrigley Field. It was certainly a day of many firsts. The Cubs and Brewers squared off that afternoon in chilly conditions, the first baseball game ever played at Wrigley in March. The game matched the Cubs’ ace, Marcus Stroman, and one of Milwaukee’s finest, Corbin Burnes. Stroman hurled six shutout innings in Chicago’s 4-0 win in a speedy 2 hours and 21 minutes. Stroman also did something historical that day. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to violate the pitch clock rules. The new pitch clock, fast paced games, restrictions on infield shifts and the number of pickoff throws, and bases that look like pizza boxes are all part of the discussion as we opened play on the 2023 regular season.

There have been some alarming trends in baseball over the past several years. The average time of a nine-inning game rose from 2 hours, 30 minutes in the 1950s, to 2:46 in 1989, and to a record 3:10 in 2021. Executive VP Morgan Sword of the MLB has cited research indicating that in this age of reduced attention span fans indeed prefer games around 2:30. Second, with the rise in infield shifts last year (totaling 70,853 for balls in play) and higher velocity pitches, the league-wide batting average dropped from .269 in 2006 to .243. This is especially true for left-handed hitters who on average last year batted .236, down from .254 in 2016. And third, speed on the base paths has basically come to a halt. MLB teams last year averaged just one stolen base every other game.

Before we explore the specifics of the 2023 MLB rule changes, let’s see how the change in rules have played out in MLB’s ultimate testing grounds, minor league baseball (MiLB). Last year baseball instituted a pitch timer in all three levels of MiLB (AAA, AA, and A). Times of games were reduced dramatically, from 3 hours, 3 minutes in 2021 to 2:38. And importantly, statistics like runs per game and batting average remained the same. Also, MiLB has experimented with a limit on pickoff attempts from the mound. Stolen base attempts went up from 2.23 per game in 2019 to 2.81 last year, with an improved success rate of 68% to 78%. A shift limit was also tested at the AA level of MiLB, resulting in increased offense. The stage was set for the rule changes to be implemented in 2023 by MLB’s 11-person competition committee. Curiously, the four MLB players on the committee each voted against the use of a pitch clock and the limit on defensive shifts.

Let’s first tackle the pitch timer, an innovation deemed by MLB executive Sword as “probably the biggest change that’s been made to baseball in most of our lifetimes.” How does it work? The basics are that a pitcher gets 15 seconds to deliver the ball to the plate with no runners on base and 20 seconds with runners on base, and if the time expires the umpire calls a ball. The clock is positioned for all to see – the pitcher sees the clock behind the plate; the batter can view one in the outfield; and the television viewer even gets one on the screen. The days of a batter stepping out of the box after each pitch and adjusting his batting gloves are over. When a hitter steps to the plate, he needs to be in the box with at least eight seconds on the clock or an automatic strike is called. And importantly, a batter can call time once per plate appearance to stop the clock.

The early returns are so far, so good. While the MiLB AAA experience in 2022 saw an average of 1.73 violations last April, MLB violations have averaged just around 1 per game so far this season. As the MiLB players adjusted throughout the season last year to a violation of 0.43 per game, the hope is that violations might be even lower than that as the MLB season progresses this year. A humorous sidelight is that Shohei Ohtani committed another first this past week when he committed a violation as a pitcher and a hitter during the same game. And most importantly, the time of MLB 2023 games has seen a dramatic decrease, around 30 minutes per game so far!

The restriction on infield shifts is also earth shattering. Two infielders are required to be on either side of second base and all infielders must be within the outer boundary of the infield when the pitcher is about to deliver the pitch. Interestingly, MLB has also now mandated that the infield dirt have uniform dimensions – the outfield edge must be 95 from the front of the pitching rubber. While infield shifts have increased substantially over the past ten years, batters have pretty much refused to adapt. Gone will be the days of your team’s left-handed slugger hitting a line drive, one hopper to the second baseman stationed in short right field for an easy out.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said this recently on the shift restriction: “I think that you’re going to look at the field and see players positioned the way that most of us grew up seeing them positioned.” While some teams have experimented a little with having their left fielder leave his position and create an outfield shift for left-handed hitters, more often we are seeing the positioning MLB is seeking. What is clearly the trend is having more athletic and versatile second basemen. In Chicago alone, both the Cubs and White Sox are starting two middle infielders with shortstop backgrounds, Swanson and Hoerner on the North Side and Anderson and Andrus on the South Side.

The new rule on “disengagement” might be the most intriguing one. Pitchers can only attempt two pickoff throws to the bases during any at-bat. If a third one is attempted and fails, the baserunner is awarded the next base. This, coupled with the larger bases that were instituted to cut back on collisions near the base, may make 2023 the year that stealing returns to baseball. It will become more important than ever for a pitcher to be quick to the plate with his delivery with runners on base.

I have really just touched the surface with this discussion of the new rules, and will review again during the season how they impact our game. Your Coach is all in for now. The game seems to be faster paced and well received by the fans. Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said it best this past weekend: “We are in the entertainment business. The fans are liking it more. The action, the pace. It’s been good for the game.”

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach