MLB Team Breaks Century-Old Record As New Rules Change The Game
Updated: Jun 30, 2023
The 2023 Major League Baseball season marks a new era for America’s favorite pastime. MLB teams and players need to adjust to the new rule changes the league put into effect this year. Some of these rules were tested in the Minor Leagues over the past few years before trickling up to the MLB.
Through one exciting opening weekend, several teams have already exploited some of the new rules. Let’s revisit some of the changes and how one team has already stood out breaking an MLB record.
Recapping The MLB Pace Of Play Updates
The vast majority of the new rule changes came into effect with the goal of speeding up the pace of play. Average game times were over three hours, which made it difficult for the league to keep the attention of fans for so long whether on TV or at the stadium. Player safety was also another concern for the league. Here are the three most significant changes this season.
-Pitch clock (Pitcher has 15 seconds with bases empty and 20 seconds with at least one runner on base)
-Infield shifts restricted (At least two players need to be on either side of second base)
-Increase in the size of first, second, and third base
What Happened Opening Weekend?
The Baltimore Orioles quickly made a statement during their opening weekend series against the Boston Red Sox. In their first two games, Baltimore recorded ten stolen bases, which is the most by any team through two games of a season in MLB history since at least 1901. The team stole just one more base over the next couple of games, but 11 through four games is still a huge accomplishment. Orioles’ shortstop Jorge Mateo and centerfielder Cedric Mullins did most of the work with four stolen bases each.
Several other teams are also averaging more than one stolen base a game. The Cleveland Guardians stole eight bases in their first five games. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and Seattle Mariners all have six stolen bags each so far in 2023.
The speed on the base paths is a direct result of the new changes. Larger bases shorten the distance and make it harder for the infielder to defend the runner. The pitch clock forces the pitcher to stay focused on the batter and they have a limit on the number of pickoff attempts. And with the seconds counting down until the next pitch, base runners can time their stolen base attempt and are having success.
So far in 2023, teams are able to steal bases successfully 83.3% of the time, which is an 8% increase from last season. The number of stolen base attempts has increased by nearly 25%. Additionally, the changes have shortened the average game time from three hours and nine minutes to two hours and 38 minutes. Shaving a half hour off the game seems like it makes for a more exciting product for MLB fans to watch.
In Closing
It’s still too early to tell what impact the rule changes will have on the MLB, but it seems like a huge difference in just one opening weekend of action. Games are going quicker and there is plenty of action throughout the contests. There will need to be a larger sample size of games to see if teams that are having the most success stealing bases are able to win more games.
For now, it is refreshing to see Major League Baseball attempt to evolve its game as the next generation of stars moves through the ranks. The league needs good attention to remain relevant in the action-packed spring sports calendar.
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