Today, baseball finally makes its return.
There are two spring training games still on the schedule for today.
The Seattle Mariners will play the San Diego Padres while the Texas Rangers square off with the Kansas City Royals.
And so, this will mark the first time that we will see some new rules in effect.
A pitch clock, larger bases, and limits on the shift will be on full display this afternoon.
There will also be limits on pickoff attempts.
ESPN’s top MLB insider Jeff Passan appeared on SportsCenter and talked about the new rules and how everything will look this season.
There are actual baseball games being played today — and in less than two hours, with Rangers-Royals and Padres-Mariners, we’re going to see the official introduction of the pitch clock, shift ban, pickoff limit and bigger bases. went on @SportsCenter to talk about it. pic.twitter.com/vTtiC98f2V
—Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 24, 2023
Passan talked about how MLB is hoping for a much quicker game.
The average length of time for games last season was three hours and seven minutes.
MLB is hoping to shave off at least 20-25 minutes.
They are also hoping for a return to a crisper style of baseball.
As Passan put it, it’s more akin to what the game was like in the 1970s and 1980s, which emphasizes athleticism, speed, and power.
They also noted that MLB officials are aware of the reputation that the game has taken on in recent years, that it has evolved into a much slower-paced game and that they are hoping to change that.
The implementation of these rules in the minor leagues was quite a success and gave fans what they wanted.
Passan talked about how players will have to adjust to this and that it will take some time to get fully acclimated to the new style of play.
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