MLB 2023

The 2023 MLB spring training starts today Feb 24th, with Texas vs KC and Seattle vs San Diego.....also an exhibition game, Northeastern University Huskies vs Boston Red Sox.

The World Baseball Classic starts on March 8th....with 20 teams competing this year (link below for more info)

https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic

Batter up...it's baseball season

So what do you folks think of the new rules in MLB?

I don't like contestly watching the pitch timer, to me it's a distraction and takes away the beauty of baseball not being tied to a clock, but it does make the game move along at a faster pace. The games have been progressively get longer.... last year's average exceeded 3 hours, this rule change should reduce the game down to about 2.5 hours

I'm still not sure about the defence shift changes....time will tell.

The larger bases should/could make it easier for the runners to be safe on base, resulting in more overall runs.

Below are the details of these rule changes from the MLB website.

• A pitch timer
  • The pitcher must begin his motion to deliver the pitch before the expiration of the pitch timer.
  • Pitchers who violate the timer are charged with an automatic ball. Batters who violate the timer are charged with an automatic strike.
  • Batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher by the 8-second mark or else be charged with an automatic strike.
  • With runners on base, the timer resets if the pitcher attempts a pickoff or steps off the rubber.
  • Pitchers are limited to two disengagements (pickoff attempts or step-offs) per plate appearance. However, this limit is reset if a runner or runners advance during the plate appearance.
  • If a third pickoff attempt is made, the runner automatically advances one base if the pickoff attempt is not successful.
  • Mound visits, injury timeouts and offensive team timeouts do not count as a disengagement.
  • If a team has used up all five of its allotted mound visits prior to the ninth inning, that team will receive an additional mound visit in the ninth inning. This effectively serves as an additional disengagement.
  • Umpires may provide extra time if warranted by special circumstances. (So if, as an example, a catcher were to be thrown out on the bases to end the previous half-inning and needed additional time to put on his catching gear, the umpire could allow it.)
• Restrictions on defence shifts
  • The four infielders must be within the outer boundary of the infield when the pitcher is on the rubber.
  • Infielders may not switch sides. In other words, a team cannot reposition its best defender on the side of the infield the batter is more likely to hit the ball.
  • If the infielders are not aligned properly at the time of the pitch, the offense can choose an automatic ball or the result of the play.
  • This rule does not preclude a team from positioning an outfielder in the infield or in the shallow outfield grass in certain situations. But it does prohibit four-outfielder alignments.
• Larger Bases
  • The bases, which traditionally have been 15 inches square, will instead be 18 inches square.
  • Home plate is unchanged
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

The World Baseball Classic is down to 4 teams....anyone watching?

Cuba vs USA today in the semi-final......Cuba is 2-2 (.500) and USA is 3-1 (.750)

Tomorrow is Mexico vs Japan in the other semi-final......Mexico is 3-1 (.750) and Japan is 4-0 (1.000)

Winners of each semi-final advances to the championship game on Tuesday, March 21.

USA slaughtered Cuba 14-2 and Japan beat Mexico 6-5, so the final game is USA vs Japan tonight @ 7pm ET

The MLB regular season starts today March 30th, with 15 games scheduled....let the fun begin, play ball.

It was an excellent Spring Training with lots of entertaining games, and incredibly nice weather in Florida

St Louis finished at the top of the NL with a percentage of .708 (17-7)

LA Angels finished at the top of the AL with a percentage of .621 (18-11)

I watched almost every Blue Jays game, who finished with a decent .531 (17-15)....looking forward to a successful season.

….OPENING DAY ….

Dodgers chopped a lot of kids in off seasons

.Looking forward to the excuses from coach again this year on why is high bankroll and freedom to coach is not preforming in post season .. he should have at least 3 rings now@ least 3 …

Opening Day … best time of year ..spring is in the AIR !!!!

It's great to see the game resemble the game I witnessed in my youth(70's),fast moving,no nonsense baseball w/hustle.Analytics almost ruined the game w/shifts,launch angles,etc. Striking out was a BAD thing when I was a kid,making contact was prized not hitting 30 HR's but striking out 150 times.Moving the runners up,stealing bases, and hitting a fly ball w/ a runner on third are all fundementals of the game.No more steppoing out of the box to readjust batting gloves or all the other quirky things batters use to do and no more pitchers taking 45 seconds to throw a pitch. Thank God baseball wised up in all probability they saved themselves from extinction.

CCGNZ said:

It's great to see the game resemble the game I witnessed in my youth(70's),fast moving,no nonsense baseball w/hustle.Analytics almost ruined the game w/shifts,launch angles,etc. Striking out was a BAD thing when I was a kid,making contact was prized not hitting 30 HR's but striking out 150 times.Moving the runners up,stealing bases, and hitting a fly ball w/ a runner on third are all fundementals of the game.No more steppoing out of the box to readjust batting gloves or all the other quirky things batters use to do and no more pitchers taking 45 seconds to throw a pitch. Thank God baseball wised up in all probability they saved themselves from extinction.

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The new rules have most certainly made the game move faster.....most games are over 30 minutes faster than the previous year.

During the first games of pre-season, the broadcasters were going stupid with showing the clock counters, but they have really limited that so it's no longer a problem.

ISK said:

The new rules have most certainly made the game move faster.....most games are over 30 minutes faster than the previous year.

During the first games of pre-season, the broadcasters were going stupid with showing the clock counters, but they have really limited that so it's no longer a problem.

Click to expand...

The game was getting out of hand regarding time,life moves fast now and people don't have the attention span nor the time to invest in a 3+ hr. marathon w/way to much down time,one pitch guy's stepped out of the box readjusted batting gloves,grabbed crotch to adjust cup,took a few practice swings and spit a couple times every FKN pitch,it was ridiculous.Same for many pitchers,way to deliberate,holding the ball to freeze runners on base, stepping off the rubber,playing around w/the rosin bag,all the FKN meetings at the mound,taking 30 seconds just for signs from catcher ALL had to go IMO. The shifting took away so many base hits it was incredible,batting avg. will prob. go up 20 pts. , I also remember when batters w/good wheels WANTED to hit the ball on the ground,launch angle be damned. Next thing to come is a universal strike zone,it's time,some umps zone is night and day from others and I see a pitch be a strike or ball depending on the count or what was a ball one inning is a strike the next.To many umps either don't give a low (at the knees) strike or don't give a high (at the letters) strike. Used to be National league called low and American called high going back to the 70's,time for a robotic strike zoneIMO.

when anthony volpe breaks ricky hendersons stolen base record in 15-20 years, do we asterik for the larger bases and limited pick attempts? tough one. i love the pitch/hit clock that was long overdue. umpiring is getting kinda stupid- instant replay im still up in the air about its a love hate thing. the lack of player policing of the unwritten rules is heartbreaking to me, the game really needs to bring it back.

By chance, I recorded the NY Yankees vs Oakland A's and got to watch Domingo German pitch a perfect game.

It's been 11 years since the last perfect game and only 24 in the history of MLB.....and only the 3rd in NYY history

He threw 99 pitches in total, of which 72 were strikes.....rather awesome performance

The 2023 MLB Home Run Derby will be played today, and the All-Star game on Tuesday.

It's been an interesting season so far....I believe the new rule changes have improved the flow of the game

The AL East has been quite strong as even the last placed Red Sox have a better record than all of the AL Central division....only Texas and Houston have a better record than Boston.

I'm still cheering for the Toronto Blue Jays, who are doing okay but have been a bit disappointing.

It's going to be quite the race for the AL wild card positions, so it looks like the second half of the season will be exciting.

Atlanta seems to be killing it in the NL side.....serious contenders to go all the way

ISK said:

The 2023 MLB Home Run Derby will be played today, and the All-Star game on Tuesday.

It's been an interesting season so far....I believe the new rule changes have improved the flow of the game

The AL East has been quite strong as even the last placed Red Sox have a better record than all of the AL Central division....only Texas and Houston have a better record than Boston.

I'm still cheering for the Toronto Blue Jays, who are doing okay but have been a bit disappointing.

It's going to be quite the race for the AL wild card positions, so it looks like the second half of the season will be exciting.

Atlanta seems to be killing it in the NL side.....serious contenders to go all the way

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i went to a Rockies game last month. the game flew by with the new rules. i enjoyed it (finally).

It's been 11 years since the NL has won the All Stars game (3-2)......it wasn't the most exciting game ever but at least was a close competition

Was nice to see Vladimir Guerrero Jr win the Home Run Derby.

It been rather exciting baseball for those teams in the hunt for the playoffs, which start Oct 3rd.

In the AL we have 3 teams fighting for the last 2 wild cards, as Tampa Bay has clinched the first position.

Toronto has 86 points, Houston has 85 and Seattle has 84, but this seems to change day by day as one team gets hot, then cold.....they have all been up & down like a yo-yo.

In the NL we have several teams in a close battle for their wild card positions.

Philly with 85 points will likely win the first wild card, but the last 2 spots have 4 teams in a close race.

Arizona has 81 points, Cubs have 80, Miami & Cincinnati are tied at 79 points.

San Fran still has a slim hope with 77 points but most likely won't make it.

No baseball today....the wild card playoffs start tomorrow, Tuesday Oct 3rd.

Toronto @ Minnesota
Texas @ Tampa Bay

The Blue Jays got lucky, as they win the 6th wild card position in the AL after losing their last 2 games to Tampa Bay.

Then the Blue Jays get another break, as they play the Twins instead of Tampa Bay, Texas or Houston, who have all played very well against Toronto.

Not saying that the Twins will be a push over, but they did finish with the least wins of all AL playoff teams.


As for the NL, I don't think any of the wild cards have a hope in hell in wining over Atlanta or the LA Dodgers, but one never knows.

Arizona @ Milwaukee
Miami @ Philadelphia

All four of the wild card games finished yesterday in a sweep.

Most surprising is Tampa Bay losing at home to Texas.
The Rays had the second best record in the AL but somehow could only score one run in two games.
The Rangers dominated both games....not even close 4-0 then 7-1

The most disappointing were the Blue Jays, who also could only score a single run in two games.
The Twins were not playing that great, it was Toronto playing that bad, they stranded so many on base.
Vladimir Guerrero looked so sloppy getting picked off on second base, very sad indeed.

Philadelphia looked quite strong in both games, no surprise to see them dominate the Marlins.
Miami only managed to score a single run per game (which was marginally better than the Rays and Jays).

Then what happened to the Brewers....losing twice at home to Arizona, I didn't expect that.

No games until Saturday

AL:
Texas vs Baltimore....this should be an exciting series.
Minnesota vs Houston.....I think the Astros have the advantage.

NL:
Arizona vs LA Dodgers.....doubt if the Diamondbacks will do much against the Dodgers.
Philadelphia vs Atlanta.....I'll be cheering for the Phillies but the Braves look extremely strong and will likely win.