New MLB rule changes working like a charm

Major League baseball has implemented a number of rule-changes this season. The goal is to generate more action in a shorter amount of time, making the product better for fans across the board. The primary targets are younger fans and marginal fans. Studies were clear what people didn’t like about the game. These rules intend to address those issues. 

Surely, you have heard about this. 

Baseball has always bragged that it is the one game that doesn’t have a clock. It still doesn’t. But there is now a pitch timer now that limits the time between pitches to 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on. The games still last as long as they take to be completed. The pitch timer is like the play clock in the NFL and the shot clock in the NBA. The goal here is to limit the amount of time between action on the field. The residual impact will also be shorter games.

Pitchers are limited in the number of disengagements from the mound that they are allowed. The limit is two per batter and it includes throwing to the bases to hold runners as well as calling time and stepping off the mound to regroup. If the pitcher disengages a third time and doesn’t pick a runner off of the base, they are charged with a balk and the runner(s) advance a base. Add in the fact that the bases are three inches bigger, which makes second base four and a half inches closer to first and third bases. The goal here is to bring the stolen base back into the game. Plus, the bigger bases will limit the potential injuries that occur with collisions at first base.

Shifting three infielders to one side of the diamond has been banned. Now, two infielders must be standing in the infield dirt on either side of second base. The goal was to create more offence by creating holes in the infield that had been eliminated by the dramatic defensive shifts that were being implemented. The league slash line is up from .232/.307/.369/.676 last March and April to .250/.324/.410/.734 this year. Batting average is up by 18 points while OPS is up by 58 points. This is huge. 

The early returns on the rule changes have been fantastic because the desired goals are being achieved. The time of nine inning games have been reduced on average by 26 minutes from 3:03 to 2:37. The pace of play is dramatically improved. 

Stolen base attempts and success rates are each much higher. Through the first 14 days of the season last year, there were 169 stolen bases in 230 attempts for a success rate of 73.5 per cent. This year, there have been 256 stolen bases with 59 caught stealing for a success rate of 81.3 per cent. That makes 85 more attempts and 87 more stolen bases in just a couple of weeks. Not only are fans benefiting from the excitement of the stolen bases but it places more baserunners in scoring position and leads to more run production. 

Offence is up significantly this year from 4.0 runs per team per game to 4.7 runs a side on average in March and April. 

Major League Baseball did a great job of testing of these rule changes in the minor leagues to understand the overall impact. The rollout of the rules in spring training was quite smooth as well. Commissioner Rob Manfred will have these rule changes on his plaque in Cooperstown one day because of their significantly positive impact on the game. 

New Dome dimensions reap benefits for Jays

Rogers Centre

Not only does the game on the field look different to Blue Jays fans, so too does the Rogers Centre. The outfield wall was among a number of renovations and reconfigurations made at the stadium. The fences moved closer to home plate in the left centre and right centre field gaps. Plus, the height of the outfield wall has been raised and lowered in different places. All in all, the changes would have allowed 19 more home runs a year ago which would have taken the Rogers Centre from the fifth most homers across MLB to number one. 

General managers have always tried to craft their rosters to fit their home stadiums but we are starting to see stadiums being reconfigured to better suit the roster a team has currently. For instance, the Baltimore Orioles made such a move last year by moving the left field fence back. It reduced the number of home runs their own pitchers allowed at Camden Yards from 162 in 2021 to 81 in 2022. That played a major role in the dramatic turnaround in Baltimore last year. 

The Jays have a power hitting team. Last season, they hit the third-most homers (200) in the American League and the second-most doubles (307). The new ballpark configurations could lead to some of those doubles going over the fences for home runs, which plays to the strength of the current roster. The Jays pitchers are slightly more of a fly ball staff but the negative impact on them will be less than the benefit to the hitters. 

Jays’ general manager Ross Atkins crafted his outfield roster to his pitching staff as the Jays now have three centre fielders in George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier. Kiermaier has robbed seven homers since 2017, including the one he stole from Kerry Carpenter of the Detroit Tigers in the home opener. 

The other thing to keep an eye on is how it impacts the desire of free agent hitters to want to join the Jays. The more offensive the stadium plays, the more hitters will want to come north of the border. The home run totals shouldn’t be too obscene to the point that pitchers won’t want to join a team with a good offence. 

Spitting Seeds

Matt Chapman Toronto Blue Jays

- Jays third baseman Matt Chapman is red hot to start the season. He is hitting .469/.538/.851 with three home runs, 15 RBI and 10 runs scored. He leads the team in RBI. He made changes to his swing in the off-season and they are having positive results. His swing had gotten long over the past few years. He’s really shortened it now which allows him to handle the hard stuff while also timing up off-speed pitches. He won’t hit this well all season but he is a real force now in the lineup. He is a free agent after the season and at this rate, he may price himself out of the Blue Jays’ reach, especially since Manny Machado is off the market and Chapman will be the top third baseman in free agency.

- This weekend, the Jays will try to do something that no one else has been able to do yet this year – beat the Rays. Tampa Bay has scored more runs than any other team and given up fewer runs than anyone else. They have tied the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers for the longest winning streak to begin a season in the modern era. They have outscored their opponents 101-30. Of course, the Rays will lose at some point. The winning streak is certainly about the Rays but also about their opponents. They have beaten the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox. Those are all last place teams with a combined record of 15-37. The schedule has certainly favored the Rays to start the season. But they can only win the games in front of them and they have. This will be a fun weekend in Toronto with the Rays and Jays going at it.

- Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, but there is hope that he will be back by the end of May. He will be able to swing the bat as a designated hitter before he will be able to play in the field and throw the ball with his surgically repaired arm. He has recently started taking ground balls and has volunteered to play first base, which could get him back in the field quicker. The Phillies lost Rhys Hoskins to a torn ACL and have been trying to piece the position together with multiple players. The Phillies need Harper back as quickly as possible as they have gotten off to a very slow start at 4-8.

- Padres fans are counting the days until Fernando Tatis Jr. returns from his suspension for PEDs. I know that fans around the game will boo Tatis and chastise him for his failures. But, most Padres fans are going to welcome him back with open arms and those who don’t will be won over quickly. Tatis hit two home runs for triple-A El Paso on Thursday night and is hitting .352/.522/.588 while on his rehab assignment. He is coming back and he is going to be a superstar again.