Opinion: America’s oldest sport has become new again

MICHAEL LAKEY Former Staff Writer

Ah, baseball. America’s pastime. Our nation’s oldest sport has become stale and boring over the last 50 years as average game times ballooned from around two hours during the 1970s to nearly three and a half hours during 2022. Pitchers became slower and hitters began taking far extra time between pitches. In addition to the extra-long game times, there were fewer balls in play, fewer hits and more strikeouts, leading to far less game action and too much downtime. In order to combat these trends, Major League Baseball has instituted a slew of new rules over the last five seasons, with the most extreme measures coming during 2023. It is still early, but the new rules seem to work better than MLB could’ve possibly hoped for. Allow me to break down their impact.

Let’s begin with what an average baseball game looked like during the 2022 season. Hitters routinely stepped out of the batter’s box after nearly every pitch and pitchers often took over 30 seconds to even throw a single pitch, producing situations in which fans may go over 10 minutes without seeing a ball put in play. In addition, teams often implemented defensive shifts, especially against left-handed hitters, that could take an entire side of the field away from the hitter. This produced fewer hits, fewer runners on base and overall less game action for fans.

The slow, dragging pace of the game along with the lack of action made the sport difficult to watch, especially for casual fans who may watch on TV. Dur- ing the decade leading up to 2022, the MLB saw its attendance and viewership decrease every single year as games got slower and more boring. Most casual fans stopped watching altogether because it provided little to no entertainment value, which a sport needs in order to survive. Starting in 2023, MLB addressed these issues. The biggest change for this season has been the implementation of a pitch clock. MLB has had rules in place governing the time pitchers may take between pitches for almost a decade now, but they have never been enforced properly until this season. This year, all stadiums have installed clocks that show pitchers how much time they have to throw a pitch. Pitchers have 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base. This change has already had a dramatic effect on the sport, as game times have shortened to an average below three hours for the first time in 20 years. Instead of taking almost a minute between pitches, pitchers now pitch almost immediately after receiving the ball. Games are moving along quicker.

The rule is not without its unintended consequences, though. Pitchers and hitters alike have had difficulty adjusting to the nuances of the clock. For example, if a pitcher does not pitch before the clock hits zero, the umpire can award a ball to the batter. Similarly, if a batter does not indicate that he is ready for the pitch by making eye contact with the pitcher before the clock hits 8 seconds, it can penalize the batter a strike. Within the first week of games, there were dozens of infractions, and some fans have argued this has hurt the game itself because pitchers and hitters are benefitting without earning their benefits. However, infractions have steadily declined since the beginning of the year, and will continue to de- cline as players adjust. Another argument of fans is the pitch clock forces players to move too quickly in some of the most important moments in the game, when they would rather see the game breathe in order to soak up the moment. MLB has responded to these concerns by allowing umpires more leeway in certain situations in order to produce more drama. Though there have been some early drawbacks, the benefits of the pitch clock to the pace of play are undeniable.

In order to see more balls in play and game action, MLB also implemented a defensive shift ban for 2023. Under this rule, teams must have at least two infielders on both sides of second base when a pitch is thrown. The outcomes, similar to the pitch clock, are very telling. Batting averages are up around the league, more balls are put in play, the average time between game action has decreased significantly and games have become more intriguing.

One final rule change that has made baseball more exciting this year are larger bases. The size of the base has been expanded in order to promote more stolen bases and more aggressive baserunning. The stolen base is one of the most exciting plays in baseball, with a runner taking off as soon as a pitcher releases a pitch which almost always leads to a close play at the base he is attempting to steal. Stolen base numbers are up around the league as a result after declining for years thanks to analytical statistics that said they were not worth the risk. This rule has proven another successful way in which MLB has improved the excitement of its sport.

These three key rule changes – the pitch clock, shift ban, and larger bases – have already had a huge effect on the game of baseball. Game times have shortened, more balls are put in play and more exciting plays occur because of these new rules. If you are a casual sports fan who had given up on baseball over the last few years because of its lack of intrigue and slow pace, I highly recommend you catch a game on TV or in person this season. America’s oldest sport has become new again.