Yet discounting the pandemic-influenced seasons of 2020 and 2021, attendance has fallen steadily since 2015, and last year’s average was the lowest since 1996, which had come in the wake of the 1994 strike. The sixth game of the last World Series, between Philadelphia and Houston, attracted 12.5 million viewers, the fewest ever for a decisive game in prime time.
What to Know About M.L.B.’s New Rules
All about action. Major League Baseball is implementing some of the biggest changes in the sport’s history in an effort to speed up the game and inject more activity. Here’s a look at some of the new rules taking effect this season:
Rule changes alone will not fix everything, and much of baseball’s quirky charm — the pitch-by-pitch rhythms, the absence of timed quarters or periods — will always remain. But it cannot hurt to have more stuff going on and less waiting around.
“Going up there when you’re hitting, you’ve just got to get up there and go,” said Manny Machado, the star third baseman for the San Diego Padres, who added that the adjustments would be worth it. “It’s going to be cool to see more offense, more first-to-third, more runs are probably going to be scored. But then you’re also going to see some pretty good defense.”
Pitchers have 15 seconds to start their delivery with the bases empty, and 20 seconds with a runner on base. Batters must be looking at the pitcher with eight seconds left on the clock; Machado failed to do this in the first exhibition game of spring training and was called for an automatic strike.
Yet that game, against the Seattle Mariners, was completed in 2 hours 29 minutes, and the average time of spring training games, through Wednesday, was 2:35 — 26 minutes faster than last spring. Stolen base attempts were up to 3.1 per 100 plate appearances, from 2.1, and so was the success rate, which was 77.2 percent compared with last year’s 71.3.
Before, pitchers had unlimited opportunities to pick runners off. Now, they can disengage from the rubber only twice per plate appearance; a third pickoff try, if unsuccessful, would result in a balk. And with bigger bases (18 inches square, from 15), the distance between first and second (and between second and third) is four and a half inches shorter than before.
“Putting aside pace of game — which obviously is going to be huge — I initially thought the shift would have the biggest impact because it’s going to lead to less efficient positioning of the defenders and therefore more balls getting through for hits,” Rick Hahn, the Chicago White Sox’ general manager, said about halfway through the exhibition schedule.
Yet discounting the pandemic-influenced seasons of 2020 and 2021, attendance has fallen steadily since 2015, and last year’s average was the lowest since 1996, which had come in the wake of the 1994 strike. The sixth game of the last World Series, between Philadelphia and Houston, attracted 12.5 million viewers, the fewest ever for a decisive game in prime time.
What to Know About M.L.B.’s New Rules
All about action. Major League Baseball is implementing some of the biggest changes in the sport’s history in an effort to speed up the game and inject more activity. Here’s a look at some of the new rules taking effect this season:
Rule changes alone will not fix everything, and much of baseball’s quirky charm — the pitch-by-pitch rhythms, the absence of timed quarters or periods — will always remain. But it cannot hurt to have more stuff going on and less waiting around.
“Going up there when you’re hitting, you’ve just got to get up there and go,” said Manny Machado, the star third baseman for the San Diego Padres, who added that the adjustments would be worth it. “It’s going to be cool to see more offense, more first-to-third, more runs are probably going to be scored. But then you’re also going to see some pretty good defense.”
Pitchers have 15 seconds to start their delivery with the bases empty, and 20 seconds with a runner on base. Batters must be looking at the pitcher with eight seconds left on the clock; Machado failed to do this in the first exhibition game of spring training and was called for an automatic strike.
Yet that game, against the Seattle Mariners, was completed in 2 hours 29 minutes, and the average time of spring training games, through Wednesday, was 2:35 — 26 minutes faster than last spring. Stolen base attempts were up to 3.1 per 100 plate appearances, from 2.1, and so was the success rate, which was 77.2 percent compared with last year’s 71.3.
Before, pitchers had unlimited opportunities to pick runners off. Now, they can disengage from the rubber only twice per plate appearance; a third pickoff try, if unsuccessful, would result in a balk. And with bigger bases (18 inches square, from 15), the distance between first and second (and between second and third) is four and a half inches shorter than before.
“Putting aside pace of game — which obviously is going to be huge — I initially thought the shift would have the biggest impact because it’s going to lead to less efficient positioning of the defenders and therefore more balls getting through for hits,” Rick Hahn, the Chicago White Sox’ general manager, said about halfway through the exhibition schedule.
