SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- We know how Major League Baseball’s new rules for 2023 look on paper. But how will they look in practice? The arrival of the pitch timer, restrictions on extreme infield shifts and bigger bases combine for the most significant alterations to MLB rules in decades, and that’s

Baseball’s new era arrived as many new eras do. With a lot of intrigue and a little awkwardness. With the excited embrace of some, the miffed objections of others and the ultimate conclusion that the game -- and the world -- will, indeed, go on. It’s Spring Training, so --

The 2023 Major League Baseball season brings a wave of rules changes collectively aimed at improving the game’s pace of play and increasing action on the field. The arrival of the pitch timer, restrictions on defensive shifts and bigger bases makes for one of the more ambitious adaptations to the

This year, Spring Training will not just be about players showing up in the “best shape of their lives” and “getting their work in” and uttering all of our other favorite camp clichés. We are about to embark upon a spring exhibition season unlike any other in baseball’s history. Because

This story was originally published during the 2022 season, but we are resurfacing it in light of the announced rule changes for 2023.

Earlier this winter, we dug into the upcoming positioning ban, attempting to use Statcast data to identify which hitters might benefit the most from the new rules. As we discussed at the time, it’s complicated -- mostly because teams can still position intelligently within the rules, and because we don’t

HOUSTON -- The slugger went deep, then the console went beep. As Central Missouri infielder John Prudhom crossed home plate Saturday after hitting a towering two-run home run in the first inning of a game at the Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park, Billy Cannon pressed the button that

Nestor Cortes walked down the mound, received the throw back from his catcher and did what so many of his pitching heroes would do. He took a short stroll through the grass around the mound, thought about the next pitch and what he wanted to do with it, then climbed

One of the most intriguing storylines heading into the 2023 MLB season is how the new rules being implemented will impact the game. With new infield shift restrictions, a pitch timer and larger bases among the changes this year, it will be exciting to watch the resulting effects. MLB Network

This story was originally published earlier this season, but we are resurfacing it today in light of the announced rule changes for 2023.

The changes coming to Major League Baseball in 2023 -- the pitch timer, defensive shift limits and bigger bases -- are significant. Merely reading about them creates a feeling of unfamiliarity. But are they unprecedented? Hardly.

Baseball is back now, and that is always the best possible news at this time of year, with players on the field in Florida and Arizona. Here is even better news: The game is going to be better this season. It just is, because of three important changes that have

When her dad’s baseball team wins a home game, it’s Kyler Woodruff’s turn to play. Kyler is the 2-year-old daughter of Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff, and she’s become a regular in the home clubhouse after victories, shooting hoops on the clubhouse’s Pop-A-Shot-style arcade basketball game with her “uncles” -- Willy

Nearly a quarter of the way into the 2023 regular season, the rule changes MLB implemented this year are continuing to have their intended effects -- namely, a quicker pace resulting in a significant reduction in overall time of games, more hits and more steal attempts. As a result of

There was a rise in steals per game in the Single-A California League between 2016 and 2017. But it was not attributable to some leaguewide shift in strategy. It was because one team went bananas on the basepaths. The 2017 Lancaster JetHawks, a Rockies affiliate, stole 326 bases – more

If you were in the stands at Wrigley Field on Monday night, here’s what you saw: You saw the Cubs play the Mariners in Chicago for the first time since 2019. You saw Julio Rodríguez, one of the signature young stars of the sport, make his Wrigley debut. You saw

SAN DIEGO -- Padres slugger Manny Machado was ejected in the bottom of the first inning of an 8-6 loss to the D-backs on Tuesday afternoon after arguing a pitch timer violation. With the clock running down, Machado attempted to call timeout, though home-plate ump Ron Kulpa judged that Machado

Among the several MLB rule changes this offseason were the pitch timer, a limit on pickoff attempts and the bases becoming slightly larger (and therefore, slightly closer to one another). An expected by-product of these rules was that stolen base attempts would become both more common and more successful, and

Opening Day 2023 did not just mark the debuts for prominent prospects like Anthony Volpe and Jordan Walker. It also marked the official debut for perhaps the most transformative series of rules changes in modern MLB history. After a Minor League trial and a Spring Training adjustment period, the pitch

We know not to take Spring Training numbers all that seriously. The Cardinals, for instance, will not be staging a parade to celebrate having the best record of the exhibition season. But the numbers from the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues are quite a bit more important when they relate to

You’ll be familiar with most of the MLB rules this season. It will still be three strikes for an out and four balls for a walk. It’s still nine innings and nine lineup spots. The team that scores the most runs in a game will win that game 100% of

A quicker pace of play this season will be accompanied by a quicker pace of replay. In conjunction with the arrival of the pitch timer, managers will have a shorter window of time to request replay reviews. Because replay review was only used in Spring Training games at Salt River

As Major League Baseball embarks upon a season in which the size of the bases has been increased, we regret to inform you that the distance in between bases will not be 90 feet this year. Yes, that’s a lot to process. We get it. You were born into a

A new era of baseball is under way. The arrival of three rule changes in 2023 will make the pace of game faster, with more action and even more athleticism on display. What better way to acquaint ourselves with the new rules than with the help of some of the

Major League Baseball sent a memo to clubs on Wednesday outlining several clarifications on the rule changes that have been implemented for the 2023 regular season, including a pitch timer, infield shift restrictions and larger bases. Thus far, the average game time in Spring Training has been 2 hours, 36