2023 MLB season outlook
T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA of Major League Baseball instagram account)
By Matt Anderson, staff writer
Freshly cut grass, the smell of stadium food, and the best views in sports: baseball is officially back for the 2023 Major League Baseball season. Opening day is right around the corner, and there are lots of things to look forward to, including two new, interesting modifications to the schedule.
The first change fans will notice will be seen right away on March 30, as for the first time since 1968, all 30 MLB teams will play on opening day. This is a great aspect for the league to bring back because in the last half century, only a few select fanbases got to watch their team in the first game of the season. Now everyone can enjoy rooting for their favorite team on day one. The second modification is one fans have been asking for for years and this year MLB finally delivered. Starting in 2023, each team will play all 29 other teams, rather than the usual 15 opponents from their league. The 30 MLB teams are split into two leagues, the National League and the American League, 15 teams belonging to each. For years teams have been accustomed to playing every team from their league, but then only five teams from the other. It was odd that before this upcoming season, certain teams would go several years without playing each other. This new format will allow for more interaction among uncommon pairings, allow for new relationships and rivalries between teams to develop, and allow for cities to host every team in two years rather than the usual six. This new change should work out great in spicing things up.
In addition to the schedule changes, there are also two new, huge game rule modifications that will be in effect for the first time this season. The rules are aimed at growing the game and making it more exciting, yet they are very controversial. The first is a restriction on defensive alignments, which states that there must be two infielders on each side of second base. In baseball there are numbers, stats, and metrics for everything, and in the last decade, teams have studied their opponents so much to where they adjust their infield defense for every hitter. This is known as “the shift.” A normal infield defense see’s the four infielders about equal distance from each other all across the infield. But in recent years almost every hitter would see at least three infielders on one side of the infield, depending on where the defense thinks they’ll hit the ball. This worked tremendously for the defenses and took away many would-be hits every game, so banning the shift should significantly bolster offenses and contribute towards MLB’s goal of reaching a larger audience.
The other new rule is much more controversial, and it is the implementation of the new pitch clock. The average time of baseball games has grown every year. It is not rare these days for the time of games to reach the three and a half to four hour mark. The reason for this is the dead time in between pitches. Often in a game, the time in between pitches can reach above a minute. This can be because of pitches walking around the mound, taking a long time to get a sign, stepping off the rubber unnecessarily, and purposely taking a long time to slow the game down. Or it can be batters who step out of the box, get their sign, readjust all their gear, and go through a long routine while getting in the box. The new rule states that when there are no runners on base, pitchers must start their motion within 20 seconds after receiving the ball, and 15 seconds with runners on base. If they fail to do so, an automatic ball will be called. Batters also have a responsibility as they must be in the box and ready to hit by the time the clock reaches eight seconds or they will be penalized with an automatic strike.
Here’s the root of the controversy behind the two new rules: Major League Baseball is attempting to grow the game and appeal to a wider audience by making the game more action packed and exciting. To some it’s a great idea. “The new rule changes in baseball will grow younger audiences' interest in the game. So in that aspect they are beneficial,” said senior Russell Wyffels. However, longtime baseball fans are becoming fed up with the annual rule changes every year and don’t like how much MLB is trying to change the game. Many feel that MLB is disloyal to the truest fans because by making all these changes, they are valuing a newer, larger audience, over the one that has stuck with them and enjoyed the old game of baseball for years.
Baseball is in many ways unique in comparison with other sports, something longtime fans hold to dear to their hearts. Baseball has by far the most games in a season at 162, which is great for excitement late in the season as good teams have worked so tirelessly over the past several months to reach for a spot in the postseason. “As the baseball season progresses teams start to play more intensely and you get multiple close baseball games in a week which are entertaining to watch,” said junior Elijah Aguilar. The excitement of the latter half of the season is another plus of a 162 game schedule, in that it is hard to predict. Every year there are surprise teams who catch everyone by surprise. Last year it was the Philadelphia Phillies who started the year as a team who people thought might make the playoffs, might not, and they caught fire at the end of the season to make it all the way to the World Series. The year before, 2021, it was the Bay Area’s own San Francisco Giants who dropped everyone’s jaw by winning a team record 107 games. They were expected to only be mediocre that year.
The regulation 162 games, and thus 81 home games, makes for a ton of opportunities for fans to go catch one. There is nothing like attending MLB games. “The best thing about going to MLB games is 100% the fact that no two ballparks are the same. Every ballpark is very different from one another because of the very loose restrictions of field dimensions of the playing fields unlike other sports. The architecture can also differ very much throughout all of the different stadiums. They might even have things like pools, fountains or giant structures inside of the stadium,” said Wyffels. In addition to that, baseball season being held primarily in the summer, almost every stadium being outdoors, and most being located in the downtown area of cities, all add up to create some of the most amazing, eye popping venues in the world. As a bonus, popular scenes that can be viewed from select parks include the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, San Francisco Bay in San Francisco, the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh, the Ohio River in Cincinnati, and many more stunning skylines visible from most seats.
Despite it all, there has been one knock that has consistently followed baseball forever, and that’s that it is boring compared to the other sports. However, one who believes this should consider rethinking that statement as baseball is more exciting than ever. “Today’s MLB has the most talented group of players that the game has ever seen. More pitchers in today’s game are throwing 100+ miles per hour with insane movement and more hitters are crushing exit velocity records resulting in home run totals,” said Wyffels. Baseball is also hardly comparable to other sports in the way it is played as there is no running clock and the game is truly played to its completion. “You don’t have a certain amount of time to win a game. In baseball you have to throw the ball over the plate until all 27 outs are made. There’s no running out the clock like other sports. This makes the game more strategic and more thoughtful decisions are made throughout the game,” said Aguilar. Major League Baseball has grown exponentially over the years and millions of fans are excited to witness another great season.