MLB Rule Changes Are Having A Big Effect On Games

So the MLB rule changes that have been put into place for the 2023 season have had an effect so far in spring training. So my boy Jeff Passen put out this tweet yesterday. He compares spring training 2022 to spring training 2023. He breaks it down into a few different criteria. The first one is time of game. You can see in 2022 the average game time was three hours and one minute. In 2023 it was two hours and 36 minutes. Now the time of game is down because of the pitch clock. I think we all know that. There's no doubt that the game feels faster. Sometimes it does feel a bit too fast in my opinion but I don't mind the pace overall. Now runs per game in 2022 were 10.6 in 2023. So far it's 11 runs per game. And if we go down to batting average on balls in play on ground balls in 2022 it was a 2.35 average. In 2023 it was a 2.58 average. So runs and batting average on balls in play on ground balls are both up. And this is from a combination I think of the shift rules allowing more balls in play to sneak through the infield especially for left-handed hitters. And then also from the new pickoff rules in the bigger bases. This allows more runners to steal bases which we also see is up a good amount from 2022 to 2023. In 2022 stolen base attempts per game were at 1.6 and in 2023 it's at 2.4. Now the strikeout rate is down very slightly. In 2022 it was 23.9% and 2023 it's 23.1%. Now is this from hitters feeling that they no longer need to try to hit a ball over the shift because there is no shift and can instead just try to put the ball in play? That could be it. The decrease is pretty small though so we'll probably have to see how this continues to play out. So overall as Jeff says more singles, more stolen bases, more runs, and a 25 minute faster game. So the question is do you like the changes so far? I think most fans wanted more action. The game had become a three outcome game the last few years. It was either a strikeout, a walk, or a homer. And the league is trying to create more balls in play and more action on the bases which both seem to be happening. I don't think any fans are going to complain about that. If you want to you can let me know in the comment section below. Now the pace of play is something that fans seem to be split on. I've talked to a lot of people. I'm online a lot. It seems like some really like the new faster pace. Some feel that it is too rushed. Some absolutely hate it and want the game to go back to the way it was before. I personally think we'll all eventually get used to this new faster pace and I think the players will continue to adapt like they really do in all sports anytime there's new rule changes. And if you look at most other sports, especially the NFL, there's always new rules. So players are used to adapting to new rules in that sport. Baseball doesn't seem to adapt as many new rules as some of the other sports. But I do think the players will adapt. So what are your overall thoughts on how things are going so far this spring and how they'll continue to go and if you like them or if you hate them? Let me know in the comment section below. So that's all we have. Thanks so much for watching. Subscribe to the channel. Hit the notification bell. Give it a thumbs up. All that good stuff. And we will talk to you later.