MLB Reportedly Expected To Ban Shift, Add Pitch Clock For 2023

Major League Baseball is reportedly gearing up for some major changes in the upcoming season.

“The introduction of a pitch clock, a ban on the defensive shift and larger bases for the 2023 MLB season are expected to be approved in a vote at noon ET on Friday,” The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal wrote Thursday.

The report specified the expected details of said rule changes to be potentially implemented to MLB in 2023.

Pitch clock
The timer starts when the pitcher has the ball and both the catcher and hitter are deemed to be ready to play. The clock is set at 15 second with nobody on and 20 second with runner(s) on. Interestingly, the pitcher is only allowed to step off twice, barring the advancement of a runner. Meaning, after two throw-overs, the runner knows the pitcher cannot attempt a pickoff, which would be a massive advantage. The only exception to the rule is that the balk is not charged if the pitcher either picks off the runner on the third attempt or he is safe advancing to another base.

There will be a 30-second pitch clock in-between at-bats and a two-minute, 15-second timer in-between innings. There are dozens more rules to know regarding the pitch clock but those jump out.

Pitchers and catchers in violation of the rule will be charged with a ball while the batter will receive an automatic strike should he take too long to get in the box.

Shift restrictions
The main point is that two infielders have to be on each side of second base. Interestingly, each infielder has to have both feet on the outer boundary of the dirt, seemingly meaning players cannot make even slight adjustments to their positioning other than laterally.

Another interesting point regarding the shift is that the penalty is a ball charged to the pitcher but a violation occurring on a ball put in play acts as an offside in football. If the result favors the defense, it is negated and a ball is added to the count. But, if the ball in play results in a hit, error, hit batsman or any other play that favors the offense, it stands.

Bigger bases
Bases will be 18 inches instead of 15, making it slightly easier to swipe a bag and supposedly better for injury prevention. We could see even more ridiculous slides with more room to evade tags on a larger base.