Inside: Playing by the new rules,

Pitch clock, bigger bases and ending shift are designed to make game more entertaining

Another Blue Jays season is upon us, one that will feature a tinkered roster as the team looks to rebound from last year’s disappointing playoff exit. But the lineup isn’t the only thing different on opening day this year.

Major League Baseball has implemented a set of new rules designed to improve pace of play, encourage more action on the bases and improve player safety. Among the most significant rule changes are the introduction of a pitch clock, bigger bases and restrictions on the infield shift.

To the casual viewer, these may seem minor — even esthetic. But for longtime baseball fans they represent a controversial attempt to modernize the game.

Here’s a look at everything you need to know about the new rules, while the Star’s baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm shares his take on how he thinks they will impact the game.

Why change?

For years, professional sports analysts and MLB executives have complained about baseball’s waning popularity, especially among young people. In January, Cincinnati Reds president Phil Castellini called it an “industry in crisis.”

Much of the concern stems from attendance numbers, which have declined slowly over the past 15 years or so. In 2022, MLB drew 64.6 million fans — the fewest in a nonCOVID-affected season since expansion to 30 teams in 1998.

Despite the hand-wringing, baseball remains the second-most popular sport in the U.S., trailing only football, according to a recent Ipsos poll of American fans. Still, the sport is slowly declining in popularity among those aged 18 to 34, with only 23 per cent of respondents saying they were fans of baseball.

Young folks, so the theory goes, think baseball is a boring and archaic slog. MLB’s solution: Make the game faster, encourage more hits and facilitate more baserunning.

“Our guiding star in thinking about changes to the game has always been our fans,” commissioner Rob Manfred said in February. “We’ve conducted thorough and ongoing research with our fans, and certain things are really clear. Number one, fans want games with better pace. Two, fans want more action, more balls in play. And three, fans want to see more of the athleticism of our great players.”

The changes “have been thoroughly tested and refined for years in the minor leagues,” Manfred told reporters, estimating that about 8,000 games have been played under the new rules. They were implemented in the big leagues for the first time during spring training.

The pitch clock

The most significant — and controversial — change is the introduction of a pitch clock.

The rule: Pitchers will have 15 seconds between pitches, 20 with runners on base. Batters must be “in the box and alert to the pitcher” by the eight-second mark. Pitchers who are too slow will be charged with an automatic ball. Batters who violate the eight-second rule are charged with an automatic strike.

The good: Those who find the game dull or slow will surely be pleased with the new tempo. In spring training, the pitch clock has shaved off more than 20 minutes per game on average. Last spring, the average game was three hours and one minute. This spring, it was two hours and 39 minutes. Yankees pitcher Wandy Peralta struck out a batter in just 20 seconds on March 2. In previous seasons, pitchers have taken 20 seconds to throw a single pitch.

The bad: Many purists fear that the pitch clock, which forces players to act fast and make decisions in a matter of seconds, will diminish the drama and intrigue that make the game special. Indeed of the major

sports, baseball is perhaps the most cerebral. In spring training, we saw examples of how the clock could nullify an exciting play or destroy momentum.

Gregor’s take: MLB has made a lot of changes in recent years to speed up the sport. Most of them — limiting mound visits, the three-batter minimum and shortening the length of walk-up songs — barely made an impact. This one should be different. The best part is, none of the action has changed. It’s just being condensed into a shorter time. There might be growing pains early on as players adjust, but it will be worth the effort.

Bigger bases

The league’s decision to introduce bigger bases aims to encourage more baserunning and reduce injuries. The change is far less controversial and has been largely welcomed by players.

The rule: The three bases will increase from 15 inches to 18 inches square. Home plate remains the same size. “They look like a pizza box,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told The Associated Press. The change cuts the distance between the bases by 4 ½ inches, and between home and first base and third base and home plate by three inches.

The good: Over the past decade, base stealing has slowly declined. In 2012, there were 3,229 steals on 4,365 attempts. In 2022, that was down to 2,486 steals on 3,297 attempts. Larger bases and shorter distances between them encourages more aggressive baserunning,

thus adding excitement to the game. “I’ve definitely been thrown out by less than (4 ½ inches) … so maybe that starts factoring into results,” Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner told AP. But early data suggests bigger bases won’t necessarily lead to a huge jump in stolen bases. Two Triple-A leagues used the bigger bases for half of the 2021season. One experienced a 2.2per-cent increase in successful steals, and the other 0.7 per cent. The change, which gives runners more space to avoid collisions with infielders, does seem to have a significant impact on player safety. While testing the bigger bases in the minors, there was a 13-per-cent decline in what the league calls “injury events near the bases” from 2021 to 2022.

The bad: Baseball purists might object to tinkering with part of the game that arguably isn’t broken, but players generally seem OK with the change.

Gregor’s take: At first, this idea seemed a bit silly, but most people will barely notice the difference. The bases are bigger, but only marginally so — it’s like going from a small pizza box to a medium size. While that might be enough to convince some players to attempt more stolen bases, an increased running game seems more likely to come from the limit on pickoff attempts and pitchers not having as much time to focus on baserunners because of the pitch clock. I didn’t like this change at first, but after seeing the new bases in person, I don’t think it’s anything to get worked up about.

Banning the shift

New limits on how infielders are allowed to position themselves on defence are designed to “increase the batting average on balls in play, to allow infielders to better showcase their athleticism and to restore more traditional outcomes on batted balls,” according to the league.

The rule: When a pitch is thrown, defensive teams must have a minimum of four players on the infield, with at least two completely on each side of second base. Previously, teams could shift all their infielders to one side of second base to better defend against batters who are known to pull the ball in a certain direction. The shift challenged batters to adjust their swing, making it more difficult to get on base. If the infielders violate the rule, the hitting team can choose an automatic ball or the result of the play.

The good: A ban on the shift means more balls in play, which means more action and more runs. Lefthanded batters who were most often affected by the shift will also welcome the change. The new rule will also affect how the game looks. The shift, which has been around for decades but has become far more ubiquitous in recent years, “makes the game esthetically awkward and less entertaining,” Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci argues. “In the blend of art and science, baseball should always be more about an athletic competition than an intellectual contest among hackers.”

The bad: Baseball is a game of athleticism, but it’s also a game of strategy. Fans who value strategy and advanced analytics — the Billy Beanes of the world — may bemoan the new rule. As will some, but not all, pitchers.

Gregor’s take: This is another welcome change, but one that may require further tweaking in the future. The current ban does not cover outfielders and some teams figure to get creative with their alignments. MLB believes teams risk giving up extra bases if they move outfielders into non-traditional spots, but advanced scouting and analytics departments still figure to crack to the code for strategy that works best. Still, this is a worthwhile change because banning the infield shift makes the game closer to how it was originally intended to be played, and should provide infielders with additional opportunities to showcase their athleticism.

What else is changing?

Pickoffs: Pitchers will only be allowed two disengagements — any time a pitcher tries to pick off a baserunner or steps of the rubber for any reason — per plate appearance. If a pitcher disengages a third time, it’s a balk, which allows runners to advance one base.

This rule will likely be a challenge to enforce, at least at first. Some fans are worried it will diminish the drama between a pitcher and the team that’s batting.

Position players pitching: When your favourite team is getting thrashed, there’s always been one thing to look forward to: a nonpitcher taking the mound. Unfortunately, we’ll be seeing a lot less of that in 2023.

Under the new rules, position players can only enter the game if at least one of the following criteria is met:

■ The game is in extra innings.

■ A team is trailing by at least eight runs at any point.

■ A team is winning by at least 10 runs in the ninth inning.

The aim is to curb the number of position-player pitching appearances, which reached a record 132 in 2022.

Although it’s fun for fans, the instances have an effect on offensive and defensive metrics, which could in turn affect free agency and salary arbitration, ESPN reports. Automatic runner: Since 2020, teams have begun each inning after the ninth with an automatic runner on second base.

This applies only to regular-season games. As part of the rulebook update, this is now permanent.