Baseball is known as America’s pastime that takes a long time. In the new competitive bargaining agreement, Major League Baseball included a slew of new rules meant to improve the basis of the game — including pace of play.
Many believe that the new rules are tarnishing the methodology of pitching, but the rule changes weren’t meant to benefit pitchers. Yes, adding a pitch clock will speed up deliveries, but 14-19 seconds is plenty of time to take a breath and focus.
It’s plenty enough time to solve a Rubik’s Cube.
Nothing about a pitcher’s mechanics is going to have to change to accommodate the new rules. It will take time for pitchers to adjust, but there’s no reason to spend more than 20 seconds standing on the mound before delivery.
The rule changes were meant to benefit the masses. They were introduced to preserve professional baseball as a whole.
Year after year, players get injured on the basepaths due to collisions. Youth sports play with a double base to avoid this, but those aren’t used in professional baseball. To make the game safer, MLB increased the base size by three inches.
It's not fun to watch a player fall injured from a collision or hitting the wrong part of the bag. Neither is the recovery process for that player. After a shortened 2020 season that led to an injury-plagued 2021 season, it makes sense that the MLB wants to protect the health of its players moving forward.
Banning the shift isn’t ideal for pitchers either, but unless you’re a heavy-handed pull hitter, you won’t come across the shift. According to a 2018 article by MLB, more than 17% of plate appearances ended on a shift. At the time, no team used the shift more than the Houston Astros — ironic — where they occasionally placed six, not five, fielders on the right side of second base.
It also doesn’t always work, though. Hitters can easily beat the shift with minor adjustments.
With the amount of analytical systems and metrics that are applied to hitting, it is only a matter of time before there is a scientific way to beat the shift. Plus, an extra hit or two won’t damage a pitcher’s statistics.
Baseball isn’t losing any of its magic. Is the game going to be faster? Yes, but that makes it all the better for baseball fans.
Ashley Beach is a sophomore studying journalism 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 Ashley know by emailing her at ab026319@ohio.edu.
