MLB Introducing More Rule Changes In 2024, Including New Pitch Clock

Did you like Major League Baseball’s litany of rule changes in 2023, which included the introduction of a pitch clock, wider bases and a limit on mound visits?

We hope you answered yes, because more changes are coming in 2024.

It was announced Thursday that MLB would make a series of tweaks and changes to those rules in 2024. The changes, which were formally approved by the competition committee, can be found below.

MLB Rule Changes 2024

1. The pitch clock rule, which was implemented last season, will see a slight change for instances where runners are on base, with pitchers now having 18 seconds between pitches. That’s down from 20 seconds last season.

2. In concurrence with the league’s decision to increase the size of bases, MLB will widen the running lane along the first-base line by six inches next season. This should allow runners a more direct route to first base.

3. The number of mound visits will shrink from five per team, per game to four. The league will still allow each team one extra visit in the ninth inning if they’ve used all four to that point — which was the case last season. In addition, catchers can now call for a mound visit to avoid a clock violation without actually going to the mound.

4. The pitch clock operator will now restart the clock after a dead ball as soon as the pitcher has the ball and play is ready to resume. That removes the pitcher’s ability to delay the start of the clock by walking around — as they no longer have to be on the mound.

5. If a reliever is late leaving the bullpen after a mid-inning pitching change, they will lose 15 seconds from their warm up. They will now have two minutes to finish warming up in such situation.

6. If a pitcher warms up at the start of an inning, they now will be required to face at least one hitter. That change comes in response to an increase in the number of times in which a pitching change took place after a pitcher had warmed up before the start of an inning. The MLB says there were 24 occasions this season in which that happened. This should give offenses an edge, with pinch-hitters now having the upper hand.

It should be noted that MLBPA executive director Tony Clark says the players on the competition committee voted no on the rules changes implemented Thursday. That did not matter, though, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan pointed out that MLB has a majority of seats on the committee — allowing them to push the changes through.

We’re sure this won’t have an effect on the next CBA negotiations…