Consider us in the “Hell Yeah” column of those who see only new excitement from the MLB rule changes. No more mind games played out in silent nothing, just baseball with a flare for risk taking.
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Barely a week into the Major League Baseball season, something seems incredibly obvious. Any argument to the contrary would have to be from someone being purposely obtuse. The new rules in baseball, specifically the pitch clock, are perfectly fine and have no impactful downside.
Fans were up in arms when the changes were announced. Shift bans; larger bases; pickoff limitations; clocks on batters getting into the box and pitchers delivering. It was all too much too fast for the diehards. Of course, the “vast” amount of changes are probably not nearly enough to bring in any new fans, but that’s another discussion.
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After watching real, regular season games, with the new MLB rule changes, we’ve decided they are all perfectly fine! The shift bans are fine! They lead to more base hits. The larger bases are fine! They lead to more people being safe on the basepaths, whether that be reaching base or stealing. Pickoff limits are fine! They lead to more nuanced control of a running game. And most importantly, the pitch clock is fine! Like, definitively fine. In fact, we guarantee that if someone didn’t know the rule changes took place and had the game on mute (to prevent hearing the announcers mention the changes), they would not know there was a pitch clock at all.
Unless someone gets called for a violation, the clock is unnoticed. It is likely a monumental difference for the players to get used to, but as viewers, it doesn’t impact our experience negatively in any way. On the plus side, the games feel peppier. As has been mentioned by defenders of the improvements, what gets cut with the clock is dead time, not game action. All they did was trim out dead time, and it works. Baseball is better!
MLB Rule Changes Shift Game For Good
Todd Salem: Change Is Very Good
As far as I’m concerned, the MLB rule changes are quite good, so what’s the counter argument? That a game could end on a clock violation? We’ll get used to that too, just like a basketball game ending with a shot clock violation or a football game being altered by a delay of game penalty. It’s not like those are “fun” ways to decide those sports, but no one is clambering to get rid of the clocks when a game is on the line. Baseball fans will eventually realize that.
In practice, we don’t want baseball players rushed. The mind battle between pitcher/catcher and batter is something to savor and examine. In action, this still feels the same, just better. The lone exception comes when a pitcher can’t get a handle on his command or the game pace.
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It happened in a Yankees game when Giants closer Camilo Doval was on the mound. Doval, a notoriously slow worker, seemed to not yet be used to the new pace requirements. He was having trouble locating, rushing his delivery, putting people on. He did not look like a dominant closer. Of course, that used to happen to guys when there was no clock too. We just didn’t have the clock to blame.
Doval eventually worked out of trouble by getting a hard-hit double play to close the game and the victory for San Francisco. He will get used to the clock, I’m sure. It will take time, but we’ll know the clock has become an accepted and forgotten piece of the rulebook when a pitcher melting down is not blamed at all on being rushed, and instead on him just not having it that day.
Dan Salem: New Rules Breath New Life Into Baseball
It’s funny how no one mentions what the game of baseball had become, which ultimately led to these rule changes in the first place. I love the changes that MLB made, because the game was slow and dominated by pitchers who truly controlled the pace of play. Baseball is inherently exciting, but a balance is required for this to be true.
There needs to be a sense of suspense and unknown. You lose that when pitchers take super long, then batters take super long to counter. You lose that when hits are hard to come by and no one can steal a base. The all home run game is boring, because the excitement and special feeling is gone when all of the scoring is solo dingers. Our rule changes outlaw the dead time and mind games that make the game slow, while encouraging the exciting plays and risk taking which is inherently exciting. Yes!
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Was the average baseball fan truly against the MLB rule changes, or is the sports media simply dominated by purists who thrive off negative headlines and low hanging fruit? Complaining is easy and sparks emotional debates. Saying you love something is the end of the conversation, so I’m not surprised by the pre-reactions to our rule changes. But kudos to MLB for testing them out and actually improving the game of baseball.
What will be the season-long ramifications of these MLB rule changes? I would expect scoring to be up, but home runs to be down. We will likely see more blown saves and fewer shutouts. The stats will change, but they always evolve. This is progress, not a detriment. The fun thing about baseball is that there’s a strong chance I’m completely wrong! At a minimum, there will be a standard pace to the game of baseball that has been missing for nearly a decade.
Meet our Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor, Writer, and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s a published author, as well as an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X and Instagram.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a fantasy football and fantasy baseball Staff Writer for RotoBaller. Follow him on X or comment below for his unfiltered opinions.
MLB Rule Changes Photo Credits: CBSNews.com and NYTimes.com
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