Today is a good day for a rant. I am back after several months of inactivity due to being uninspired. However, as an active goofball on Twitter, I have seen complaints about the new MLB rule changes for the 2023 season. I know the readers of The Post have been dying to hear my opinions, so I decided to give you, the reader, what you have been without for so long.
Starting in the 2023 season, the MLB will implement a few new exciting rule changes. There will now be a pitch clock, a ban on the defensive shift and larger bases to increase player safety. Here is why these changes are good for the game.
Let us start with the pitch clock. The pitch clock will be 15 seconds for a pitcher with no one on base and 20 seconds for a pitcher with a batter on base. Also, hitters must be in the batter's box with eight seconds left on the pitch clock. You might ask, "Weston, why is this a good thing? Doesn't this disrupt the natural flow of the game?"
Precisely! The MLB's average game time has steadily increased for quite some time now, clocking in at approximately three hours and four minutes. The game first exceeded the three-hour mark in 2014. This has become a problem for casual baseball fans since increasing the average game time makes the MLB less accessible. During this season's spring training, games have run times of just over two hours. This is excellent for people like me who don't have three hours to spare every game day.
Now onto the shift. The shift mandates that players in the infield cannot move across the second base to add another fielder on this side. This will increase offensive productivity for hitters who only hit it to one side. Critics of this rule, like my father, would say, "Hit it where they ain't!" but I am personally for anything that will add offense. In addition to the pitch clock, you have quicker games with more offense, meaning more exciting games.
Now for the boring one: added base size. I won't say much on this because it doesn't have a large impact, but the MLB increased base sizes to decrease the probability of injuries and collisions. I am for this because only a mean person would want that to happen.
Now as a true journalist with integrity, I must address the counterpoint. The counterpoint is based in traditional values purely dependent on nostalgia passed on through generations.
I imagine those against these new rules say, "Gee whiz, these rule changes are hurting the game so much! There's nothing I enjoy more than spending five hours at a ballpark eating hotdogs and Cracker Jack with my best gal and the gang. Afterward, we'll head to the local diner for some soda pops and then go dancing. These rule changes are ruining that for me!"
To these pundits, give it a chance! With these changes, we will see the fastest and most exciting games this year. All changes take time to get used to, but people will adjust. In 1975 when the game length was first being tracked, it only averaged two hours and 20 minutes. The days of long baseball games are over, and that's all I have to say about that.
Have a lovely rest of your day, and thank you for reading! Stay tuned for the next Twin Takes in a week or year or so.
Weston Nern is a junior studying finance and business analytics at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Weston know by emailing him wn196719@ohio.edu.
