# Baseball rules changes 2023 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [November 2, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498 "2023-11-02T18:26:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/21 "2023-11-03T15:32:53Z")
> [@ThatCanadianGuy](#): > > I don’t understand those saying they stopped watching just because of rule changes. I guess they weren’t big fans to start with. You guess wrong. I was a baseball fanatic for over 50 years, and wrote professionally about the game for close to a decade. I’ve become disgusted with the changes over the years, and finally felt it was something that I was supporting out of habit. I’ve done things out of habit in my life too often, and I very consciously decided to break as many of these harmful habits as I could. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/22 "2023-11-03T15:47:57Z")
Just as an aside, shifting hasn’t been banned. Just radical shifts, preventing players being completely out of position. Players are moved as far left or right as the rulle allows, and it’s still quite effective. Occasionally it still bites 'em in the ass, though. See Seager leading off the 7th in game 5. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/23 "2023-11-03T17:26:41Z")
> [@ThatCanadianGuy](#): > > Johnny Bench being faked and striking out when he thought he was being walked. That’s something I hadn’t really thought about. That was on a 3 and 2 pitch, and the catcher called for an intentional ball, but then he moved back behind the plate and caught the curve ball for strike three. If it happened today, would the catcher (or pitcher or manager) just tell the ump that now we want to walk the batter, after 5 (or more) pitches? I’m pretty sure I’ve not seen that situation. Has anybody? ETA: Here’s a video of that play. Strike 3 is at about the 30-second mark. [1972 WS Gm3: Fingers fakes free pass, fans Bench - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR0jGrfQCu4) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/24 "2023-11-03T17:56:37Z")
Was just thinking that the shorter games could be a reason to push back the ghost runner to the 12 inning or so. This could help balance the desire to eliminate 19 inning marathons (which always seem to be night games with a day game the following day) but also not be the deciding factor in a tenth inning win. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/25 "2023-11-03T19:29:14Z")
Length of games was not the motivating factor for the ghost runner. Over using pitchers was. Blowing out your bullpen in a random game in June isn’t worth the one win. Pitchers are throwing harder than any time in history. Pitching injuries are way up. Anything that helps stop that trend is worth it. It’s not going away because it has the backing of both the players and the management. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/26 "2023-11-03T20:38:27Z")
Except, of course, in the postseason, because apparently the integrity of the game only matters then. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/27 "2023-11-03T20:42:34Z")
Integrity matters so much that the tournament was even expanded recently! I don’t really mind the changes now that it’s been a little while. All sports have gone through the occasional (or sometimes frequent) rules changes and these have generally improved games for casual fans and/or for player safety. Certainly games are much more watchable now without fundamentally altering the basics of the sport, which is all to the better, especially for the kids ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/28 "2023-11-03T20:53:23Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Except, of course, in the postseason, because apparently the integrity of the game only matters then. Post season games are slightly different than a May 5th game between the Yankees and A’s. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/29 "2023-11-03T20:57:56Z")
Yeah, one is bullshit if it goes extra innings. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/30 "2023-11-03T23:20:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There will be a big shift in catchers since all those who are so good at framing will now have a useless skill. It’s be curious to see if the stats back up framing as being valuable. There’s already stats on missed balls and strikes by the umps, do it should be easy to cross reference by catcher. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/31 "2023-11-03T23:30:54Z")
> [@ThatCanadianGuy](#): > > I’m sure it helped with pace and made it more exciting as stolen bases went up dramatically this year. I don’t think this had been specifically mentioned yet, but yes, steals and attempts went up dramatically this year. - Total stolen base attempts, and total (successful) stolen bases were up 41% - This meant that the average steals per team went from 83 in 2022, to 117 this season Despite the dramatic increase versus the previous season, stolen base attempts are still 12% lower than they were 40 years ago (though the success rate is now substantially higher). Also, just to note, because several posters singled out the ghost runner for scorn (and for why they weren’t watching baseball in 2023): it wasn’t a new rule for this past season, and had been in effect since the COVID-shortened 2020 season. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/32 "2023-11-03T23:59:49Z")
Do we have stats on ghost runner games? How many fewer innings on average are extra inning games now? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/33 "2023-11-04T02:38:31Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > It’s be curious to see if the stats back up framing as being valuable. Yes, [catcher framing runs](https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/catcher_framing?year=2023&team=&min=q&type=catcher&sort=4,1) is absolutely a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/34 "2023-11-04T05:18:32Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Do we have stats on ghost runner games? How many fewer innings on average are extra inning games now? I found this: > While the rule may be unpopular with a large portion of fans, it has worked effectively. During the 2022 season, 223 regular season games went into extra innings, with only seven reaching the 13th inning. > In 2019, the last year in MLB before the extra runner rule, 24 extra-inning games went past 13 innings. The longest game in 2019 was a 19-inning, 413-minute affair between the Cardinals and the Diamondbacks. The longest game since the extra-runner rule was implemented was between the Dodgers and Padres on August 25, 2022, which lasted 16 innings and 349 minutes. > **[Ghost-Runner Rule Here To Stay For 2023 And Beyond - Metsmerized Online](https://metsmerizedonline.com/ghost-runner-rule-here-to-stay-for-2023-and-beyond/)** > > America's pastime has had some serious revisions during the 2022-2023 offseason. According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, MLB's Joint Competition Committee has voted unanimously to make the extra inning rule permanent for all regular season games for 2023... ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/35 "2023-11-04T05:25:04Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Also, just to note, because several posters singled out the ghost runner for scorn (and for why they weren’t watching baseball in 2023): it wasn’t a new rule for this past season, and had been in effect since the COVID-shortened 2020 season. They decided it was a good time to implement the rule but it wasn’t invented for the COVID season. They had already been experimenting with it in the minors with the intention of bringing it to the bigs. I was at a minor league game and witnessed it several years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Yelnick\_McWawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/839c29/32.png) [@Yelnick\_McWawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yelnick_McWawa)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/36 "2023-11-04T10:51:45Z")
Could someone explain the purpose of The Shift: “At the time a pitch is thrown, all four infielders are required to be on the infield dirt (or infield grass) with two on each side of second base.” What’s does this rule do to affect the game? Why can’t the 3rd baseman step back 50 feet if he chooses? Why can’t three players be on one side of 2nd base? ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/37 "2023-11-04T11:32:35Z")
> [@Yelnick\_McWawa](#): > > Why can’t three players be on one side of 2nd base? Because batters couldn’t figure out how to hit to the opposite side of the shift. Or learn to bunt for a hit. I agree that this is a bad rule. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/38 "2023-11-04T11:35:05Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Because batters couldn’t figure out how to hit to the opposite side of the shift. Or learn to bunt for a hit. - Unless you’re Ichiro Suzuki, it’s not something a typical MLB player can do without undoing decades of grooving their swing and timing. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/39 "2023-11-04T12:34:48Z")
> [@Yelnick\_McWawa](#): > > Could someone explain the purpose of The Shift That’s not the shift - that’s the rule that prevents the shift. What the shift does is take an infielder from the opposite side of the infield and put them on the other (“opposite” being in relation to the handedness of the batter). So against a left-handed hitter, taking the shortstop and putting him between 1st and 2nd. Because a lefty pull hitter hits so many balls through that side of the infield, you greatly increase the chances of fielding the ball. “But what prevents a hitter from just hitting it the other way?!” Skill. Skill prevents the hitters that the shift is implemented against from doing so. These are professionals paid a shit-ton of money - if they could, they would. It’s not a novel idea. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2023, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498/40 "2023-11-04T13:30:42Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > “But what prevents a hitter from just hitting it the other way?!” > > Skill. Skill prevents the hitters that the shift is implemented against from doing so. These are professionals paid a shit-ton of money - if they could, they would. It’s not a novel idea. Are you referring to the skill of the pitcher? There are plenty of players that hit to all fields. As you noted, the shift is/was implemented exclusively against pull hitters. ISTM that just a couple of hits/bunts to the open side of the infield would defeat the shift. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-changes-2023/992498.md?page=3)