New rules speeding up the game of baseball!

By Greg Buchanan

Baseball is ushering in significant rules changes this year designed to make the game more dynamic and faster-paced. How will those rules changes impact the sport, and which teams are best positioned to compete for a World Championship? Over the past decade, teams have increasingly placed their fielders out of position in what became known as “the shift.” For example, against left-handed batters who tend to pull the ball to the right side of the infield, managers would move the third baseman behind second base and have both the shortstop and second baseman playing shallow right field. Over time, the shift has contributed to a reduction in the overall While data geeks have spent months speculating about how the new shift rules will impact individual player fortunes, Baseball’s leaders don’t like the way that too many at-bats end in what analysts call the Three True Outcomes — a strikeout a walk or a home run.

A far more consequential change to the sport’s overall vibe is coming too - the pitch clock. Pitchers will have 15 seconds to get set and throw with the bases empty, and 20 seconds with runners on – if they fail, a ball will be called. For batters, they need to be in the batter’s box ready to hit with 8 seconds remaining on the clock or a strike will be called. This might be particularly hard on players who typically take a long time to get ‘set’ in the batter’s box, and pitchers like St. Louis reliever Giovanni Gallegos, who take a lot of time between pitches to get ready to throw. Major league batting average – from.264 in 2008 to .243 last year. Baseball’s leaders don’t like the way that too many at-bats end in what analysts call the Three True Outcomes — a strikeout a walk or a home run. The slow-moving game will speed up which those in baseball will help grow a fan base that for some are concerned is fading.